Smile Like You Mean It
by Jounetsu-no-Hana
Summary: The things that go on with Gippal and Rikku before they are separated.
1. Smile Like You Mean It

**Smile like You Mean It**

Rikku slowly opened her eyes as she heard a small knock on her door. _Ummm… nah._ She thought. She pulled the covers over her face and tried to go back to sleep. The knocks turned into banging.

**Save some face  
You know you've only got one**

"Hey! Get your ass out of bed and open the goddamn door!" Came the voice Rikku wanted to hear _least_. _Gippal… And I'm guessing he's a _little_ cranky._ Rikku thought bitterly as she took the covers off her face. She scuttled over to the door and opened it. The moment she could aim, she grabbed Gippals arm and tugged him inside. He stumbled clumsily from her surprising strength.

**Change your ways  
While you're young**

"Oui dnoehk du fyga Spira ib, Gippal?" Rikku snapped at him. Gippal pouted a frown at her.

"Noooo… Spira is much _easier_ than you." He said. He smirked as Rikku sneered at him.

"Fine. Is it any better if Brother wakes up?" She whispered, remembering Brother was in the room next to her.

"E pad ra't peda so rayt uvv..." Gippal murmured, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. They stood in silence for a moment.

**Boy one day you'll be a man  
Oh girl he'll help you understand**

"So what did you want?" Rikku said, trying to break the silence.

"Right. Well, I just thought I'd come and say happy birthday since I…" Gippal said, his words cutting off. Suddenly, he trailed off, staring out the window. Rikku turned around, marched over to her bed, and sat down with a thump.

"This is the third year you've forgotten. Or maybe just decided you didn't _feel_ like it." she said, crossing her arms and looking away so he wouldn't see her disappointment. _I really thought he would come this time._ She thought miserably to herself. She mentally rattled her brains until she got some sense. _He's a guy who was probably chatting up some girl at a bar last night. Of course he wouldn't come! He has better things to do thant see you!_ Rikku told herself.

**Smile like you mean it  
Smile like you mean it**

"Yeah. Well you know, machine faction and stuff. Got held up." He mumbled. Rikku felt the tears coming to her eyes. _He really doesn't care…He wouldn't lie if he actually did._ She thought. She angrily wiped her eyes as a tear slipped down.

**Looking back  
At sunsets on the eastside**

Gippal kneeled down immediately when he saw the tears on the side of her hand. The last thing he wanted to see was Cid's Girl crying. To see Rikku crying.

**We lost track  
Of the time**

"Aw, please don't cry! I hate it when you cry. It makes _me_ sad, which makes a whole lot of other people sad, and soon all of Spira is sad. The worlds a little less bright without you." He said, grinning at her as he said that. Somehow, Gippal thought his smile could cheer up _anyone_. He could've been right. Rikku stared at him in such an odd way, he had to look away from her. _Now would be a good time for the gift._ He thought.

**Dreams  
Aren't what they used to be**

"Look, I didn't forget." He whispered. He pulled out a small white box with a yellow ribbon tied clumsily around it. Rikku grinned slightly. _Least he tied it himself._ She thought, taking it slowly from him. She lightly pulled the string and let it sit in her lap. She pulled the top off of the white box and removed the tissue paper. Inside it was a small feather, orange and white, attached to a hook. An earring. Rikku lifted it up and looked at it.

**Some things  
Sat by so carelessly**

"It matches my scarf. I love it! But… there's only one." She said, confusion in her voice. Gippal held up a finger with one hand and reached under his shirt with the other. He pulled out a chain with the same feather on it.

"Thought I'd take a little bit of sunshine around with me. Maybe I'll remember you now." He said. Rikku couldn't help it. She started crying again, laughing as she did. "What? Am I being stupid?" Gippal asked desperately. Rikku shook her head quickly.

"No! This just is not the normal Gippal." Rikku said, trying to make her voice steady. Gippal straightened up and crossed his arms, pretending to be defensive.

"Hey, I'm a sixteen year old guy. I'm getting a little more sentimental." He said, holding his chin up. Rikku stood, putting the earring in.

"Only a little." She said, her eyes glittering up at him. He glanced down at her, and then put his hands on her waist, lifting her up into his arms and hugging her tightly. Rikku's heart began to race as she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, happy to be incased by how warm he was.

"Rybbo Pendrtyo Rikku." Gippal said, turning his head a kissing her lightly on the cheek.

**Smile like you mean it  
Smile like you mean it**

Rikku continued to play what happened in her mind. _Was that a _friendly_ kiss or a "There might be something there" kiss? Damn it! Why does Gippal have to be confusing?_ Rikku thought _E muja res. But hey, when was that ever enough?_

Translations so you don't have to go do it yourself:

Oui dnoehk du fyga Spira ib, Gippal?- You trying to wake Spira up, Gippal?

E pad ra't peda so rayt uvv- I bet he'd bite my head off

Rybbo Pendrtyo Rikku- Happy Birthday Rikku

E muja res - I love him

Adding to this one… eventually… heheh.


	2. Midnight Show Part 1

**Midnight Show Part 1**

"Would you just come on?" Rikku said, tugging on Gippals arm. Gippal leaned against a wall, unphased by her pulls. He didn't even budge. He just watched her with a slight smile on his face.

"What's it to ya, Cid's Girl?" he said with a bored tone."_Persuade_ me." He added. Rikku whined once more with a tug, moving Gippal forward maybe a centimeter. With an exasperated sigh, she fell to the ground.

"Fine! I never liked you anyway!" she said, walking away. Gippal smiled and watched her go. _She'll be back._ He said, turning and stepping into the Machine Faction again. Before he even got into the main room, there was a weak kick on the back of his boot. He turned to see Rikku there, her arms crossed persistently around her chest. He smirked.

"How did I know?" he asked no one in particular.

"This is important, y'know?" she yelled at him. Gippal held her stare for a moment, and then let out a sigh.

"Fine!" he said. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and led him to a place that no one would bother them. Once they were there, Rikku wrapped her arms around Gippal and started to cry. He had no idea how to react to this, so he just hugged her and waited for her to calm down.

"Now what happened?" he said quietly, slowly stroking her hair. She wiped her eyes and looked up at him. _Why does she only cry when she's around me? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?_ He thought, watching her wipe the tears away from her face.

"You remember my cousin Yuna, right?" Rikku said. Gippal thought a moment. _Ah yes. The one my uncle called a mutt._ He thought. He never _had_ liked his uncle that much.

"Braska's daughter. I met her once. Why?" he said. Rikku sighed and ran her hands across her face, gaining composure again.

"A messenger came and told me she started training... to be a summoner last week. She's gonna die Gippal! 'Cause, I know Yunie can do it! She can get to Zanarkand, and she'll die!" she yelled. Gippal was relieved that she didn't cry again. He was one of the worst people to come to when you were in need of comforting.

"Cid will do something. He wouldn't let his niece just die like that. You'll see." He said, putting his hands on her cheeks and wiping away some tears she had missed. Rikku stared up at him, her eyes glistening. _Gah! Cdibet piddanvmaec! Ra'c hud _dryd_ caqo! _She thought, sighing and looking down. _Anything_ to get away from those penetrating eyes of his. After a few seconds, she looked back up at him, her cheery face back to normal.

"So, how's work going?" she asked him. Gippal shook his head at her and looked into the sky. Rikku looked up with him, expecting to see an epiphany or something. Gippal smiled at her curious gaze.

"Tell you what, Rikku. You go home, and once I'm finished out here, I'll come get you. We'll go find _something_ to do. Something to get all this off your mind. Things will get better. You'll see." He said. He leaned down until the tip of his nose brushed against hers. "Call it a date if you want." He whispered. Rikku held his gaze for a few moments, hoping to out-stare him again. When she finally couldn't hold it in any longer, she looked at the ground and started to laugh.

"Okay. Why don't we just call it 'Operation Make Everything Better'?" she said. Gippal sighed as if he was disappointed. Rikku could tell he was acting.

"And this is what I get for trying to ask out an Al Bhed princess? A 'Mission Impossible' instead? I must be losing my touch." He said in theatrically dramatic tone. Rikku bit back and smile and tried to look serious.

"Hmm… must be your hair. It's getting too big. Gravity has left us!" she said. Gippal touched the tips of his hair, wondering if it was too big. Rikku grinned and started walking away. "I'll see you later."

**_I know what you want. I'm gonna take you to a midnight show tonight._**


	3. Midnight Show Part 2

**Midnight Show Part 2**

With the help of one of her friends, Rikku managed to put on a bit of make- up. Soon, Fruna (Rikku's friend) and she got to Rikku's outfit.

"You can't wear your orange shirt and shorts again." Fruna said, a hint of disgust in her voice. Rikku looked down at her normal attire and looked back at Fruna.

"What's wrong with these clothes?" Rikku asked stupidly. Fruna shook her head.

"You're going out with _Gippal_. Girls would _kill_ to be in your position right now. Are you going to be normal?" Fruna said slowly.

"I'm not going out with him. He's just trying to make me feel better." Rikku started. She sighed.

"Ohhh Rikku. Just admit it! You've loved Gippal since my birthday party three years ago. Remember? When we played spin-the-bottle?" Fruna said, her tone quieter now. _I remember only too well._ Rikku thought.

She was there, three years ago, playing spin-the-bottle at Fruna's party. When it was finally Gippals turn, every girl except Rikku leaned forward anxiously. Rikku had known Gippal for years, and had never felt any attraction towards him. He took his time in reaching for the bottle. When he spun it, it seemed to spin in slow motion, going on for hours. Everyone gasped when it landed on Rikku. Rikku looked up at Gippal with wide eyes. She could hardly believe that she had to kiss him. Gippal raised his eyebrow and then leaned over, pressing his lips to Rikku's. She went into a daze when she felt as if their lips seemed to fit with each others perfectly. She closed her eyes and pushed against Gippals lips, enjoying herself a little more than she had thought she would. And just like that, it was over. Rikku reluctantly opened her eyes to see Gippal watching her curiously. Rikku quickly averted her eyes. He smiled slightly, and all the girls around Rikku sighed in agony. The game continued, Rikku avoiding Gippals eyes, and Gippal thinking about the strange feeling he was having in his stomach.

Rikku snapped back to attention.

"So, What do _you_ think I should wear?" she asked Fruna. Fruna grinned.

"Lucky for you, I brought some clothes with me." She held up one of her bikinis and a short khaki skirt. A _really_ short skirt.

"Fruna! I can't wear that! I'll look like a slut, y'know?" she said nervously. Fruna just smiled in response. Rikku sighed and took the clothes. She slowly changed into and looked at herself in the mirror. _Wow…_ she thought. She actually felt _attractive_. _So this is how it feels to be one of Gippals latest bitches._ She wondered if you had to wear skimpy clothes to be considered attractive. Then she frowned at the thought of just being another girl. She pushed the thought away when she heard the knock at the door. She glanced at Fruna. Fruna smiled encouragingly and went into the closet. Rikku giggled at her friends attempt to be discreet. She took a deep breath as she held the handle, and slowly turned it. To her dismay, she saw Gippal there- wearing the same thing he had been wearing that afternoon. She opened the door all the way so he could see her outfit, looking down at the ground.

"H-hey." She said. She glanced up to see Gippal watching her with his head tilted. "Do I look weird?" she asked him, wrapping her arms around her stomach defensively. Gippal shook his head and grinned at her. _Ohhh, dra Gippal muug. _She thought as he reached out and took her hand in his.

"Nope. Just different." He said. Clearing his throat, he started pulling her with him down the hall way. Rikku waved behind her so Fruna would see and closed the door.

"So, since, as you know, the Machine Faction doesn't pay me that well and I'm broke, I decided we would go to my place and see what snacks I've got hidden away somewhere. 'Kay?" Gippal said. Rikku hadn't been listening until he said "my place"

"_Y-your_ place?" Rikku said nervously "You mean the place you live? Your _house_?" Gippal looked at Rikku like she was an Al Bhed screaming "Ruf tu oui fung drec kuttysh machina?" She looked down quickly. Gippal stopped and stood in front of her.

"Is there something _wrong_ with my house?" Gippal said, pretending to be offended by her nervousness. Rikku decided to take it seriously.

"Maybe the fact that almost every night there's some twenty year old woman there! Am I just gonna be one of them only younger? Although you may like that. It might be interesting to have a _virgin_ for once! Maybe I don't _like_ that you sleep around so much Gippal, y'know?!" she yelled at him. She immediately slipped her hand out of his and covered her mouth with both hands. Gippal just stood there, his face unchanged.

"You done Cid's Girl?" he asked.

"I'm sorry! I don't know why I said that…" Rikku said. Gippal just shook his head and waved his hand.

"Eh, I get that a lot from people. I'm used to it. I just like hearing it from you better." He said. Rikku tilted her head.

"Why?" she asked. Gippal just shrugged.

"Never heard it from a _virgin_ before. Cid's little girl is a virgin, eh?" Rikku felt flushed by the question.

"I'm only fifteen." She mumbled to the ground.

"And I'm only sixteen. Now off we go to act like we were five and six. Same as we did _way_ back in the day." He said, messing up her hair and then running down the hallway.

"Hey! Get back here yoooou! Do you know how long it takes for me to get this hair perfect? And your just ruined it with your greasy paws!" she yelled, running after him. He got to the end of the hallway first, of course, and touched the wall, yelling,

"BASE!" Rikku ran right up to him and jumped on his shoulders.

"There is no base!" She said, staying on his shoulders easily. Gippal reached behind him and held Rikku's legs to hold her up and started to spin around.

"No Gippal! Don't do that! WAAAH!" She said loudly, trying not to yell in his ear. She wouldn't want to make him half blind _and_ half deaf. In a graceful move, Gippal somehow spun Rikku off of his shoulder and he held her like she was a princess, and he had just rescued her from a dragon. _Hm… a knight in shining armor. Might not be a knight, but he could be prince charming. Well, minus the charming part. Or is he charming? Wait… what's he doing?_ Rikku thought. Gippal leaned forward as if he was going to kiss her. He slowly came closer, almost until Rikku just wanted to wrap her hand on the back his head, take hold of his hair, and just pull him to her lips. But she decided that would not help her well being seeing as at the moment she was taking very short breaths. His lips hovered just above hers, and Rikku closed her eyes, waiting for him to relieve the pounding in her heart. To her shock, he set her lightly on the ground.

"Alrighty, let's get going then." He said as if nothing had happened at all, pushing a button on the elevator. Rikku slowly opened her eyes. _Did I miss it…? Did I fall asleep before he kissed me? Vilg! I fell asleep, didn't I?! _She thought. She took a few steps forward as the elevator opened. She looked up and Gippal. He grinned knowingly at Rikku. _He did it on purpose!_ She shrieked in her mind. She couldn't help but smile back. This meant war.

**_With jealous hearts that start with gloss and curls._**


	4. Midnight Show Part 3

**Midnight Show Part 3**

Once they were at Gippal's house, he bowed and stretched an arm out towards the room that made up most of his apartment.

"My palace, Princess Rikku." He said in a regal tone. She took a step forward. Even though it was small, it was nice. "Is it to your liking?" he asked, straightening up.

"Yes. It's nice. Kinda…" Rikku took a step toward him. "…cozy." She finished. He took a step towards her. He was so close, Rikku could feel his body heat. He put his hand on her cheek, tracing her jaw, expecting her to submit to him as she had done earlier. As much as she wanted to just close her eyes and enjoy the feeling of his touch, her pride was getting a little _too_ big for that. _Nuh-uh Gippal. Try again._ She thought. Turning away, she took a few steps inside, viewing the room. There was a room with a TV, a kitchen with half a wall covering it, and an adjoining room. His bedroom. Rikku shivered at the thought of being in there. She flopped down on the couch. There was an amused "Hm!" behind her. She grinned. _Brava Rikku, brava_.

"So! Whatcha got planned?" Rikku asked, using a bubbly voice.

"Hmmm… Well I know a pretty kickass recipe for hot chocolate. Sound good?" Gippal asked, keeping his tone steady. Rikku grinned up at him.

"Let me guess… it's the 'old powdered just add milk water or both and you're done' kickass recipe?" she asked.

"Nooo. I have _actual_ chocolate. And do you prefer water or milk?" he asked, trying to sound as much as a butler as possible. Although it wasn't happening anytime soon, he thought he deserved points for trying to sound noble.

"Pfft. Milk please." She said.

Surprisingly, Gippal's hot chocolate _was_ pretty good. She and Gippal sat there, talking about memories of all the crazy things they had done together. At one point, Gippal took a large gulp from his mug, taking his lips away to show a large clump of whipped cream stuck to his nose. Rikku started laughing when she saw.

"What're _you_ laughing at?" he said, dipping his finger in his whipped cream and putting some on Rikku's nose. Rikku faked a horrified expression, putting her hand over her heart for affect.

"It's on NOW buddy-boy!" she yelled, scooping some whipped cream out of her cup. They continued to fling whipped cream at each other until Gippal grabbed Rikku's wrist and laid back, taking Rikku with him. She landed on top of him, with a squeak.

"You're cute, Cid's girl. You know that?" he whispered. She smiled sweetly to back up his statement.

"And you're not as bad as you look, y'know?" she murmured.

"Why, thank you. Aren't I just enchanting once you get to know me?" Gippal asked sarcastically. He couldn't tell if Rikku picked up on it or not. He could feel Rikku's heart pounding. As if it could put her at ease, he kissed her cheek. Feeling her pulse quicken, he smiled. _Well I guess that won't work._ He thought. Slowly, but without hesitation, Gippal leaned forward and kissed her.

It didn't even last a second, but it was enough to make Rikku freeze. She stared at Gippal, as if she was trying to drill a hole in his forehead and find out what he was thinking. After all, she desperately wanted to know. When he didn't kiss her again, Rikku looked at him quizzically. _Just one? When's that been his style?_ She thought. He answered her look as if he read her mind.

"What? It's not as if I have to get every woman I bring to my house in bed, do I? After all… I'm _only_ sixteen. And you're _only_ fifteen." He said, his tone sincere. All the while, he slowly slid his hand down Rikku's spine, making her shudder. She discreetly reached behind her and felt around before she found the can of whipped cream.

"Well…" she said, taking it in her hand and positioning her finger on the nozzle of it. "… I guess not." She finished, moving it in front of his face and pushing down. She moved it around until it covered his face. He didn't make a move until she had finished. When she had, he sat up and wiped his face off as she triumphantly capped the can once again.

"Life is cruel to the hopeless romantics… in' it?" he said as he flung some of the whipped cream at her. And so began the war of the cream once again.

**_If you can keep a secret, I can keep a secret._**

**The last three were short because before it was all one big document but then the thing was like 'NO IT'S TOO BIG I DON'T LIKE THAT NO!' so I had to divide 'em up. Just explainin the shortiness if you care.**


	5. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine

_Note: I did read through this, but when you have a mind that kinda… well doesn't pay attention that's what it is, I miss the little things. So if there are small words that sound out of place, it's because I'm impatient, not that I'm an idiot. Well…it doesn't come from that exactly. I'll just let you read now._

**Jenny Was a Friend of Mine**

Rikku woke up in a daze the next morning. _Where…am…I? _She wondered. She moved her head around until the haze disappeared. She bolted straight up from the couch she was laying on and only nearly stopped herself from falling off of it. Still trying to overcome her disorientation, she glanced around, looking for any signs of Gippal. As far as she could tell, he wasn't there. She sighed and lay back down on the couch. _Wonder where he is…Maybe he forgot about me… come to think of it, why am I still here?_ she thought, closing her eyes again. For a moment, she thought she was going to fall asleep again. But, things don't work that way for her. Before she could even scream, Gippal wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her off the couch into his arms.

"Gippaaaaal! Couldn't you have at least waited until I was half awake?" she said groggily. He grinned at her and shook his head.

"I wake up early, Cid's Girl. Amazing, isn't it?" he said, a smirk sliding across his face. Rikku only replied to him with a "Humph!" and sagged in his arms, hoping to make it harder for him to hold her. She got her wish, but only halfway. Gippal lazily swept his arms out from under her, and she landed on the ground with a thud. It didn't hurt her. It just made her _very_ angry.

"What was that for? Aaaah, you meanie." She said, staring up at Gippal with disdain. He just shrugged and sat down next to her. In reply, she turned in the other direction.

"It's what you get for being grumpy in the morning. Feeling awake now?" he asked. Rikku just sneered at him and laid back, luckily missing laying on his leg.

"I don't even remember falling asleep last night." Rikku said. Gippal laughed softly.

"Well _I _do." He said. Something told Rikku he was teasing her. She turned red and propped her head on her elbow.

"Did you put sleeping pills in my drink? Any kind of drug?" she asked. Gippal held his hands up innocently.

"Nope. If I _owned_ sleeping pills, I would use them. I have some bad dreams lately. Nah, you were tired, so you fell asleep while we were talking. It was pretty funny, 'cause you kept saying you weren't gonna fall asleep, and then halfway through a sentence, you just shut down." Gippal explained to her. Rikku felt relief wash over her. _So nothing happened…_ she thought, even though she was somewhat disappointed. _Gah! No thinking about that! _She turned her face away from him, failing to defeat the images that were forming in her head. As if Gippal knew what she was thinking, he turned her head and pressed his lips to hers, but this kiss was different. This time, he caught her with her mouth open. _Oh, no._ As soon as he did, Rikku felt him smile at the opportunity and open his mouth as well. She started at the feeling of it all, but soon relaxed as he pulled her to his side. Somehow he managed to make her feel comfortable, even if this was the first time she had ever had someone else's tongue in her mouth. Rikku sighed and turned her body so it was facing him. He put his fingers on the nape of her neck and his thumbs on her jaw and continued to kiss her. Soon, Rikku ducked her head and took in a breath. _Leave it to Gippal to make things move along like a scared chocobo._ She turned her head back up to him and said,

"I… guess I should go home." She stood up quickly. As soon as she did, Gippal took her wrist.

"_That_ eager to get away?" he said, sounding only a _bit_ full of it. Rikku smiled down at him.

"Don't forget, you have to go to the machine faction today. I'll come see you there later. I got some things of my own to take care of. Okay?" she said. She leaned down and kissed him once more, then made her way to the door slowly. She couldn't _wait_ to get out of those clothes.

When Rikku finally got home, she leaned against her door and slid down onto the ground. Putting her face in her hands, she shook her head. _What the hell was I doing?_ She wondered. Of course she _liked_ Gippal. But she knew they both weren't serious enough for a relationship. She wasn't even sure if Gippal _wanted_ a relationship.

"Rrrrgh! I _hate_ it when things are vague!" she said to no one in particular.

"Me too. So what's the problem?" came a familiar voice. _Brother… the _last_ person who would understand this._ Rikku thought, pulling her bottom lids down and letting them snap back up.

"Well… Fruna says she knows a secret about one of our other friends, b-but she only gave me _one_ hint and it was a _terrible_ hint, y'know?" Rikku said in as much of a pouty way as she could. Brother sighed.

"Well… oh COMING!" Brother said, acting as though Cid had called him. Rikku shook her head and went to her room, flopping down on her bed. No matter how much she looked at it, Rikku couldn't see anything good coming out of being in a relationship with Gippal other than her being happy for a while. But as little as she knew about relationships, she knew that was not enough. _Syopa E cruimt ku yht pa y ransed. Reta uid eh Macalania. Pid... Macalania ec cu lmuca du dra Thunder Plains... oh, Spira, fro yna namydeuhcrebc cu ih-sidiym?!_ She thought lazily. Turning over in her bed, she took out a book that she had been trying to read for the past month. She found now as a time to get out a book and kill time until she had to go see Gippal at the Machine Faction.

Rikku had gone through her third CD when she looked at the clock. _Well…I guess I should go now before I fall asleep._ She thought, swinging her legs out of bed. (I'm making an _educated guess_ that the Machine Faction is on Bikanel Island since at this time it isn't at Djose.) She walked slowly on the way there, feeling tired and reluctant. _I need time to sort out my thoughts. And he just puts more in every time I see him lately!_ She thought when she was almost there. _At this point, I'll be insane by the time I'm 16_. When she finally reached it, she quietly peaked inside to see if he was there. Of course, he was. To her relief, his back was turned to the doorway, and she could quickly whip her head out. She pressed her hand to her chest, her heart starting to race. _Ah no… my face is turning red. Why me? _She whined to whoever was listening in her thoughts. Whoever was, laughed at her.

"I am insane!" Rikku yelled out loud. She smacked her hand over her mouth as everyone in the general area stopped to stare at her. "What are you looking at? Hm? Can't someone talk to themselves every once in awhile? Maybe I'm _lonely_ and I find my own company very appealing, y'know? Now scurry along and do what you were put on this place to do!" she babbled. Soon, people did keep walking, trying to keep away from her.

"Quite a show." Gippal murmured behind her. A shiver crept up her spine, and she slowly turned to look at him. He tilted his head to one side, a confused look on his face. "You're looking at me like I'm gonna murder you." He said to her, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

"Are you?" Rikku asked cautiously. She wasn't being serious, but after she said it she realized it sounded like she was. She immediately tried to be perky. "So! How's everything over here?" She asked. Gippal sighed and turned his head up. When he turned it back to her, he said,

"You ask this all the time! Nothings ever different here. The only times things are exciting are when we get a machina that kills someone it's not supposed to kill. Or when a machina kills someone it is supposed to kill." A smirk formed on his face.

"Like the Yevonites?" she asked.

"Exactly." He replied, pointing a finger out at her. She slowly shook her head at him.

"Why don't we just leave them alone? If we do, then they won't bother us either. They can beat Sin their way, and we'll beat it ours. It's that simple. Just avoid conflict, y'know?" Rikku said quietly, avoiding Gippal's eyes.

"So you want every summoner like your cousin to die needlessly? Of course the Calm buys us _some_ time of freedom. But when it comes back, more summoners go and die." Gippal told Rikku. They never _had_ agreed much on politics. Even if they weren't very interested in them. But when they got into a conversation about them, somehow it all became very personal.

"But _neither_ of us is getting any closer to actually defeating Sin. It will always be here! It's _our_ punishment, and we have to learn to deal with it. There's predator, and there's prey. Maybe we need to see Sin as _our_ predator. Same with fiends. Maybe we should just give up and just work on living out our days and not counting how many more days we have." Gippal just shook his head at her. "What?" she demanded.

"Why are you always like this?" he asked her. She gave him a confused look.

"Like what? Trying to look at the brighter side?" she said, practically yelling. She noticed that they both were. _Fighting over such a silly thing. And neither of our prides will let us just say "Enough"._ Rikku drawled in her head.

"The _brighter_ side? You're being _negative_! And you're _always_ like this!" Gippal replied. This time, he did yell.

"I'm always the one who is depended on to be happy so everyone else is! Why can't I put in _my_ two cents every once in awhile? There's always something wrong with me when I'm quiet, apparently. Do I always have to be nothing but a form of happiness, and no other emotion? I'm sick of it!" She yelled right back. She turned on her heel and marched away from the Machine Faction with whatever dignity she could muster. _Oh, who cares what he thinks? I am _not_ negative all the time._ She thought, her temper rising from her words. Her steps slowed and she looked back. But Gippal was gone. She felt a pain in her heart. Even though she didn't want to take back what she said, she hated the feeling that she wouldn't be able to go to Gippal and have someone who could make her laugh. She leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, hugging her knees to her body. _I think I'll stay here awhile._ She thought to herself. Her body felt succumb to all the anger rising. Not just from Gippal. From herself. From always giving in to him and believing him. She couldn't stand being such a push over. Such a forgive and forget sort of person. _Maybe I should give up on love. If this is love, it's a little hard to understand how Pops ever survived. Maybe I'll have to give up and wait awhile._ Before she knew it, she was taking that nap she had needed all day.

**_I just can't take this. I swear I told you the truth. She couldn't scream while I held her close, I swore I'd never let her go._**

**Note: Let's just pretend that Gippal, Rikku and Brother are talking in Al Bhed, because it's a waste of both our times to translate it all ******


	6. Believe Me Natalie

**Believe Me Natalie**

**All italics are Rikku's thoughts… I think.**

"Hey…"

_Huh? That's not part of my dream…_

"Hey! Wake up. Riiikkuuu?"

_Buzz off…_

"Mmmph… bush uffff…." Rikku mumbled, waving whatever hand was poking her away. Next, the hand pushed her roughly, causing her to fall onto her side. Her eyes snapped open and she looked at her dream-killer. _Gippal…_ She just stared at him blankly, waiting for him to say something. Apparently, he was waiting for her to say something. Straightening up, he looked around, and then looked back at her.

"What're you doing out here?" he asked her. _Pfft… what does _he_ care?_

"I fell asleep. What else?" she snapped back at him. She was in no mood to put up with him, even though she couldn't figure out why she was in no mood to talk to him at all.

"Yes, I know that part. But _why_?" he said, talking slowly as if she couldn't understand him. Or maybe it just sounded like he was talking slow.

"'Cause I was tired. 'Cause I was at _your_ house all night… then I went home… and then I went to go see you…" _And then I yelled at him! That's why I'm angry!_ "And then I yelled at you! And then I was tired so I stopped and… took a nap… in the middle of a hallway." She replied, mumbling the last parts. He looked at her quizzically.

"In a hallway… 'Cause it's a very hard task to get to your own home."

"Why're _you_ being so catty?"

"Why do you think?"

"I don't know… did a chocobo chase you around again?" She said, drawing a line on the mental board. _Score: 1 to 0. Home is in the lead._

"That was… I don't even know _how _long ago! I'm _not_ scared'a _chocobos_ anymore." Gippal replied, crossing his arms. Rikku rubbed her eyes with her knuckles sleepily. She could've sworn she had only been asleep for a few minutes.

"Why's it so dark?" She immediately knew that was a bad question to ask.

"'Cause it's _nighttime_!" Gippal said crossly. "Spira, when'd you get so stupid?"

"When'd you get so conceited?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything! But never mind. You've _always_ been conceited. You're _always_ like this." Gippal rubbed the back of his neck.

"Jeeze, you're _still_ mad about that?" He mumbled. Rikku turned away from him.

"Maybe. What's it to ya?" she replied.

"Nothing at all." He said, crossing his arms again.

"Good. 'Cause it doesn't matter to me anyway."

"Good."

"Fine!"

"Stop it!"

"You stop first!" She yelled, turning around and watching him. They held an icy glare at each other for a few moments.

"What're you so worked up about?" he asked, his voice quieter now. His calm voice helped Rikku simmer down.

"Nothing. Just having a bad day."

"What else is new?"

"Gosh, you never have _anything_ nice to say, huh?"

"I meant I'm not having a good day either…"

"Oh…" Rikku and Gippal sat in silence for a moment, both wrapped into their thoughts. Soon, a gloved hand came into Rikku's view.

"C'mon. I'll take you home."

"I can find it by myself…"

"Fine then do you wanna walk alone?"

"No." Rikku mumbled in reply, taking his hand and using it to stand up slowly. Once she was up, he let go of her hand as if she hand burned him. She silently decided _never_ to touch him_ again_. Even if she wanted to… _Shit Rikku, you know you want to._ She scolded herself.

"So, why didn't someone wake me up?" she asked. Gippal pretended to think for a moment.

"I don't know. Would _you_ wake some random person up in the middle of a hallway?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well… probably. I'm not as bitter as _you_ are." She hissed at him. "Speaking of which, what's your problem? You haven't said one nice thing to me all day."

"That's not true. I was nice to you this morning." Gippal said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Well this morning was probably _yesterday_. Pops is gonna _kill_ me!" Rikku held her head in her hands to overcome her sudden dizziness that it was probably _very_ late. She never had liked Cid's temper. She felt like she was going to fall over. _Wait… I _am_ falling._ She didn't know what it was. She was nervous about a thousand other things. Everything just… exploded. But the sudden dip stopped abruptly. She slowly looked into Gippal's eyes, who watched her intently. She hesitantly took in where he held her. The warmth of his body enveloped her, making it hard for her to think. One arm was wrapped protectively around her back, his other hand holding the back of her head tenderly. _No! You can't touch him! Stop! Don't go into "Gippal World"!_ She scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion, attempting to see just what he was thinking. As quickly as her fall had stopped, he straightened up and removed his hands. She put her hands out to hold her balance and looked to see him turned away, his hands in his pockets.

"Jeeze. You don't think I'm just gonna let you fall, do you?" he mumbled. He then started to pace away. Rikku put a finger to her temple. _Huh?_ _Wasn't he pissy a few minutes ago? I don't like it when guys have mood swings!_ With that, she jogged to catch up with him.

**_And believe me Natalie, listen Natalie this is your last chance._**

**Yeah no Al Bhed in this one cuz they already are talking in Al Bhed. Anywayz, that's all folks. Untiiiiiiil NEXT CHAPTER! W00T!**


	7. When You Were Young

**When You Were Young**

They walked the rest of the way in silence, both wrapped in their own thoughts. When they finally reached her door, they both stared at it blankly.

"Hey…" Gippal started. Rikku didn't turn her head. She was too tired to do much. _Does he _have_ to keep talking?_ "… have you ever thought about…?" He trailed off.

"About?" Rikku said, reminding him of what he was saying. She was interested now, since his voice was wavering. He waved his hand in dismissal.

"Never mind. See you later." He said, turning away.

"Have _you_ ever thought about _us_?" Rikku asked him on impulse. _It's now or never._ She waited for an answer as he stopped and turned halfway.

"As in?" he asked. She knew he was trying to get _her_ to make all the moves. _Nuh uh. It's _your_ turn mister._

"You know what I mean." Gippal turned around all the way and walked a few steps forward until he was right in front of her.

"I honestly have no idea." Rikku made a face at him, giving him as much an answer as he needed. He knew she wasn't going to move this along. He turned away form her.

"Well… can't say I _haven't_."

"Really?" Rikku asked, letting too much excitement into her voice. Gippal turned to her.

"Well I'm guessing _you_ have then!"

"Well… you might've popped up every once in… awhile."

"So do you love me or not?"

"Whoa let's not be too… whoa!" Rikku said, holding her hands up. _Liking_ him was well enough. Being his girlfriend or something would be _nice_. But she didn't even know what the hell love was. And from what she had seen with most relationships from Gippal, things usually ended badly. Even if he hadn't loved a single one of them.

" Hasty? Then you _do_!" Gippal pressed on. She took a step back. In reaction, he took two steps forward, until there was about an inch of space between them. Rikku took another step back, and bumped into the wall. Gippal took one more step forward. _Great. I'm cornered, in the middle of the night, by Gippal. This can only end terribly._

"Gippal, have I ever mentioned I'm claustrophobic? Heheh." Gippal bent his head down until his lips brushed against her ear. _Oh, right, screw being mad at me when there's a chance to seduce me, of course._

"Yes. Many times when we were in one of our crazy escapes from grounding. And I _still _don't believe you. C'mon. Admit it. Make me happy?"

"Oh, so you would be happy if I did love you? But do you love _me_?" Gippal straightened, an odd expression on his face. Almost like he had thought she already knew the answer to the question.

"Of course I love you!"

"I mean _actually_ love me." Rikku said, at the moment oblivious to the fact that they were having the sort of conversation they did when they were eight. If they _like_ liked each other or not. _Even then he said he didn't _like_ like me._

"Well… yes. I do actually love you. Is that hard to believe?" Gippal said, a smirk on his face. Rikku felt stunned for a moment. _Wow… he actually sounds serious. _She decided that she wasn't going to fall for one of his Gippal-ish mind games again.

"Yes. You don't love anybody."

"Well that's very cruel. I happen to _love_ my mother. It's your turn now!" Rikku couldn't help but giggle.

"For what?" She said, still laughing.

"To admit that you love me!" She immediately stopped laughing and gave Gippal a stern look.

"What if I _don't_?"

"Then I'd be _really_ saaaaad. And you'd be a li-ar." Gippal said in a childish voice. He leaned in closer to her. Rikku knew that she was not getting anywhere near her bed if she didn't admit it- whether she wanted to or not. _Fine... maybe I'll give in _once.

"Grr! Fine! I love you! Now can I _please_ go to bed?" Rikku yelled. She said a silent prayer that she hadn't woken anybody up, even though she knew the prayer wasn't going to Yevons secretary or anything. With that, Gippals arms snaked around Rikku's waist and he picked her up, holding her like she was a princess. He twirled her around once, a genuine smile on his face.

"See was that so hard? I love you too." Gippal whispered. He lightly pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck impulsively. In her mind, this is how it was supposed to be. He took his lips away reluctantly, only to bring them back a second later. _Ahhh… Maybe giving up has it's advantages sometimes._

"_Rikku!!!"_ Someone yelled through the haze. Gippal's lips sprang from hers and she nearly crashed to the floor. Gippal held on to her hand until she had her balance. _Another prayer failed. Can't expect much from Yevon though._ Brother stood in the doorway, watching Gippal with disdain. Rikku just grinned crookedly at Brother. _I _knew_ this would end badly. _She resolved to stare at the floor.

"Ha… hello?" Gippal said weakly. All Rikku could manage was to clench and unclench her fists and rock back a forth from her toes to her heels.

"_Good morning to you too, Gippal!"_ Brother roared back. _"Get inside Rikku!" _Rikku obediently sulked inside. Normally, she would yell back at Brother. But tonight, she was too tired. Brother just gave Rikku a look. Rikku looked glumly at the floor. Then, he waddled off to bed without a word. Rikku grinned and rushed to the door, opening it a bit.Gippal was still standing at the door expectantly. He grinned when he saw her. She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. She got goose bumps when she felt his arms immediately wrap around her. He hadn't even hesitated, like he had before when she had hugged him.

"Goodnight." She whispered, and rushed to her room, jumping onto the bed. She thought about how happy he had looked when he had picked her up. _Maybe he does really care._ She shook her head and leaned over to turn her lamp off, laying down. A minute later, her eyes snapped open and she whipped up.

"Wait! Does this mean that I'm _going out_ with him or have we just--_confessed_?" Rikku yelled. Brother walked in.

"Hm...?" He asked lazily. Rikku just groaned and waved her hand dismissively, falling back into her pillows. Brother just shrugged and walked away aimlessly.

**_Like you imagined him when you were young._**

**Sorry I haven't updated. I've been on vacation. :D Gett****in a sweet tan. Ahem, so I have another chapter and now I'm reading through it. It'll be up soon! Sayonara**


	8. Interlude

**Interlude**

When Rikku woke up the next day, she went out onto a deck attached to her "house". Cid had forbidden her to call it an apartment. He had told her "This is a house not some apartment like those folks in Luca!" She hadn't just lain around to get a tan for awhile. Not that she needed a tan, but she could always improve. Plus, she decided to take the time to work out herthoughts. She laid there for a while, and after a half hour or so, her sunglasses were taken off. She opened one eye and squinted it when she realized how bright the sun was.

"Hey." Gippal said, standing over her and covering the sun. She opened both her eyes and grinned.

"Hiya. Don'tcha have work today?" Rikku asked.

"Nah, I'm off. So guess what?"

"Hm?" Rikku replied, closing her eyes again. Gippal took both her arms and pulled her up.

"We're gonna go to the oasis, since there's nuthin' to do around here, and hopefully, Brother won't pop up there." Gippal said. Rikku shook her head.

"Brothers lurking behind _every_ sand dune."

"Well then we'll be extra careful, right?" Rikku could only smile. She put out a hand and Gippal roughly pulled her up, making certain she would have to grab hold of him to stay balanced. She grinned sourly and shook her head slowly, and walked out into the hall. They had been walking for only a minute when Rikku asked,

"How're we gonna get there?"

"My hover?" Gippal said without looking at her. Rikku had forgotten that Gippal even _had_ a hover. Let alone was allowed to drive it. _Wait…_

"But you don't have a license!" Gippal only grinned at her. _Right…Why would that matter to _him "I shouldn't even bother to nag."

"Nope! You've never gotten through to me, and you won't today."

"But what if you somehow get me _killed_?" Rikku said dramatically.

"Then hopefully I'll die too…" He replied, his voice trailing away thoughtfully. Rikku didn't have an answer for that. _Damn it._ "Cid's Girl is _speechless_? Maybe I should stop being so charming…"

"_Charming_?" Rikku said, half laughing. She had practiced not being effected by Gippal's attempts to out-wit her. Even though most of the time he did.

When they finally got to the oasis, Rikku was slightly dazed from the ride on Gippal's hover. It had been a little more… bumpy then it was when she went with Brother. Once she had recovered and Gippal could stop holding her, she ran straight into the water of the oasis, jumping around and splashing. Gippal just sat down on the banks and watched.

"C'mon Gippaaaaal! Pleeeeeease?" Rikku whined.

"Mmmm… no." Gippal replied, a sweet smile on his face. Rikku growled.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't liiiiike water!" Gippal replied, mimicking Rikku's whine.

"Well why don't you like water?"

"Why don't you like thunder?"

"I've already told you that! _You've_ never told _me_ why _you_ don't like water!"

"'Cause it's weird and there are weirder things in it!"

"Like what? _Fish_?"

"Exactly!"

"Fish aren't weird. They're cute!!"

"Does that mean _I'm_ a fish?" Gippal asked, grinning at her. She just sneered at him.

"No. You can be… an octopus. Keep your tentacles to yourself."

"Harsh. But I still love you, and as such, I will forgive you." Gippal said dramatically.

"I know." Rikku said, tracing a halo above her head. Gippal didn't know if she meant she knew she was harsh, or that he loved her, but either way he didn't care. He put two fingers above his head in response to her "angelic image". They looked like antennas, but Rikku guessed that he was going more for devil then alien. Rikku splashed water at him. He scuttled out of the way in time to only get his hair wet, but it still didn't make him very happy.

"I would come in after you, but it's wet in there."

"Right. And there are fish too. Even worse!" Rikku said, waving her hands in the air in, pretending to be terrified.

"Fine!"

"Huh?" Before Rikku had time to react, Gippal had tackled her and they both plunged into the water. Luckily, it was deep enough for them to not hit their heads on the sand. They both stood up at the same time and started to splash water at each other, Gippal, of course, being backed up to one of the rock walls.

"Hah! One more point for feminism."

"Least I'm better at everything else!"

"Is that so?"

"Mmm hmm!" Rikku replied to that with another splash. Gippal, being Gippal, replied to that by putting his hand on the back of her neck and pulling himself down onto her lips. Rikku had to smile mentally. _Is this how _every_ argument ends? Even if it's a fake argument?_ Even though she couldn't complain much. When Gippal finally let go of her, Rikku giggled in a daze.

"Well… there's _one_ thing." She mumbled to the water.

"Hm?"

"Nuthin'. Uhhhhhm, so." Rikku replied, slipping around him. "You finally got in the water. How does it feel, Mr. Octopus?" Gippal thought about it for a moment, then waded to the banks and sat down in the sand, shaking his hair like a dog.

"Weird… disturbing… and wet." He replied gruffly. Rikku sighed, knowing that was all the answer she was going to get.

"Fine! I'll just enjoy this nice coolness on my own." She said, sitting down in a shallow end and running her fingers through her hair. She could feel Gippal's eyes watching her every move. _Don't move Gippal… DON'T MOVE!_

"I would consider this a cruel and unusual punishment." Gippal said, his voice quieter than usual.

"Hm? What is?" Rikku said, her voice all innocence. He smirked at her and shook his head.

"Y'know what Cid's Girl? I bet you aren't a virgin."

"Guess what Gippal?"

"What?"

"I bet you're not either." She said, smiling sweetly at him.

"If that weren't true, I would be offended."

"Wait… what does that mean…? Oh! So it _is_ true?" Rikku asked.

"I don't know."

"Gippal!"

"What?"

"Don't confuse me!"

"I'm not tryin'!"

"You know what?"

"What?!"

"I think we need to take care of that." Rikku said, standing up and walking past him to the hover. It was all she could manage to not have a giggle fit.

"Huh…? Wait, what?!" Gippal said, standing up and running after her. She turned around and grinned at him.

"I was just kidding!" she said. Gippal tried his hardest to look dejected.

"Damn it. I wish you weren't." He mumbled, his head hanging. Rikku pushed him. She continued to walk towards the hover.

"Maybe another time, hotshot." She said, wondering when he would think "another time" was. _Please let him not think tomorrow. _ She thought as he caught up with her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"When will "another time" be?" he asked hopefully, his hand slipping down to her hip. She wriggled away from his hand and stood in front of him.

"Another time! Jeez are you always trying to get in someone's pants?" She confronted. Gippal took a step forward and put his hand on her cheek.

"No. Being with you is all I need." He whispered. _Awwww! Okay good enough._ She expected him to kiss her- that's what _she _hoped for. But all he did was lace his fingers with hers and sit against a rock, pulling her with him. She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. _He's all I need._ She whispered to herself, closing her eyes as he stroked her fingers with his thumb. _This is all I need._

**I know I haven't updated in awhile. Sorry! I liked writing this one. It was fun.**


	9. As The World Falls Down

**As The World Falls Down**

_**4 months later**_

"Rikku…" Gippal said behind her. She spun with a smile on her face. He didn't look happy, but she just guessed he was having a bad day.

"Hey there!" She said, giving him a small kiss. He half smiled, half cringed. She tilted her head to the side. _Huh?_ "Something wrong?" He just shook his head.

"Can I talk to you? Some where else?" He said quietly, staring at the floor. Rikku was worried. _What is _wrong_ with him?_ She nodded concern in her eyes. Gippal turned away, walking quickly away. Rikku caught up to him and slipped her hand into his. He kept his hand limp for a few moments, and then tightly gripped her hand, making her knuckles go white. She winced but didn't take her hand away. She felt that he needed comforting at the moment. Something was definitely wrong.

Gippal and Rikku eventually arrived at the Oasis on his hover (which he now had a license for). He helped her off it and walked towards the banks, sitting down and beckoning for her to come and sit next to him. She sat with a thud and watched him carefully. He looked at her and his eyebrows knit together in an unreadable emotion. Anger? Confusion? Pain?

"Where's the earring I gave you?" he asked. Rikku looked at him quizzically for a moment.

"Oh! Right, hehe." She held up her small braid to show him the feather tied into the bottom of them. He looked blankly at it, and then looked at the water. Rikku pursed her lips and scooted closer to Gippal, pushing him with her hips as her did.

"Hey… I love you…" she said as a slight question. Gippal remained silent for a few seconds.

"I… love you too." He said slowly, as if he thought carefully about each word. Rikku felt her patience flare into _im_patience. She jumped up and stood in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"What the hell is your problem? Do you wanna break up or something? Because you're gonna have to _say it_!" Gippal gave her a hollow stare and she sank to her knees. She felt tears starting to well up to her eyes. She tried to fight them back in vain. They started to spill out. "Why?" she whispered, half to Gippal, half to herself. "What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything! It's just… y'know." He said, his hands finding their way to her shoulders.

"I don't… I don't…"

"Well… I know we both thought it was impossible… but… I-uhh…"

"What?"

"I got accepted to the Crimson Squad… and I don't want you to think much about me while I'm there." Rikku felt as though he had ripped her heart out. It just wouldn't beat anymore. It felt like it wasn't even there.

"Why…? They don't need more people. Why do _you_ have to go? You could die! I might never see you again."

"Which is why I don't want you to think of me. The only reason that I'm going is because I've seen people who've lost their families to Sin. I'm just looking for a way to make sure that that won't be me. I want to keep Sin away from you." Rikku found the strength to stop crying. She wiped her tears away and looked up at him. She was slightly shocked to see Gippal's eyes shining. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut and mumbled something Rikku couldn't hear. _Is this really the end?_ She tried to smile.

"That's okay… I was gonna go to see those ruins with pops and Brother anyway. Gonna be gone for a few months. Maybe… it's coming at a good time. Maybe it'll be easier if I have work to do." They watched each other for a moment, and then with sighs they both hugged warmly. Rikku pulled a bit away and pressed her lips to his. If this was her last moments as his girlfriend, she didn't want to end it by just hugging him. When they broke apart, she said to him,

"Just promise me something?" He nodded slowly, watching her. "If we see each other again, I wanna pretend like nothing happened."

"Huh? Wh-why?" he asked.

"Because! It's gonna be hard enough to forget you. It'll just get worse if I have to be reminded of it. Please?" she said. After a minute, Gippal nodded slowly.

"Well… I guess that's it then. I leave tomorrow morning, and you leave tomorrow night." Gippal said. Rikku nodded, and together they walked back to the hover.

It was some time in the evening when they got back. Gippal took Rikku to her home, the whole time keeping silent. Neither wanted to talk. When they got to her door, they glanced sadly at each other for a second. Rikku then turned and put her hand on the doorknob. She then spun around and flung her arms around Gippal.

"Bye Gippal." She mumbled into his chest.

"Bye Rikku. I'll miss you like hell." He said, squeezing her tightly. She let go of him reluctantly. She wanted to keep him with her forever. But this was maybe the last time she would hold him. She quickly pushed away from him, feeling fresh tears prick her eyes. She spun around, quickly opened the door and rushed in. When she got inside, she slammed it shut and slid to the floor. _I'll be in hell when you come back, Gippal._

_**I'll be there for you as the world falls down**_

**Well, all done this chapter. There's more, never fear! Anyway, once I'm done this, I'm gonna start working on a SoraxKairi and a RoxasxNamine**


	10. Another Year Passes

**Rikku's Journal**

So, here I am. I'm on the ship, working like hell 'cause Brother's in charge of me since Pops couldn't make it. Tomorrow, we're going into one of the rooms that are still pretty stable. Brother doesn't want me to go, 'cause he's scared I'll get killed by a fiend, y'know? But I can take care of myself. That guy taught me how to fight. You remember? The one with the eye patch.

We found this boy in the ruins today. He was fighting a fiend, so I jumped in to help him. Then, all the other guys came and wanted to kill him, but I told them to leave him alone. All the same, I had to knock him out. I'm afraid I might've hit him too hard. He's been unconscious all night now. Maybe he'll be awake by tomorrow morning. Well, I gotta get to sleep. The Captain's sending me down to see if there is still power in those ruins. Later!

He woke up earlier! We didn't have time to actually introduce ourselves, 'cause Brother's putting him to work. Says if any Yevonites plan to stay on his ship, they're gonna have to work. He sending the boy down with me to check for that power in the ruins. Can you believe it? I have nothing against the Yevonites, but I don't wanna be in their company that much. Still, there's something odd about him. Well, I guess I'll talk to him later.

Wow… I'm still shaking. Can you believe we were attacked by Sin? Who would've thought he'd come here? And Tidus… he's gone. He just fell off the ship, y'know? Right. Okay, so Tidus was the boy we found in the ruins. And he had already been near Sin before! He was ranting on about how he was the star athlete from the Zanarkand Abes. Sins toxin must've really gotten to Tidus, because he wouldn't let me tell him that he was just imagining it. He was really set on making me believe he was from Zanarkand. Oh well. I do hope he's all right though. I was gonna take him to Luca for the blitzball tournament. He said he played, and I guess I believe him from the way he swam around underwater, so I guess he would know someone from the tournament. Well, I have a feeling he's alright. Well, we're sailing off to another area tomorrow. I've still got 2 months out here left… This is gonna be hell. See you later!

Someone said they saw a Summoner with five guardians heading towards the Moonflow on their pilgrimage. And I get the lovely task of kidnapping them. That many guardians, by myself? They're sure to put up a fight since one of them are bound to see me. Oh well. Here goes nothing!

It was Yunie! I had to kidnap Yunie! And just to keep me interested, Tidus was there too! He's alive! Anyway, I get to be a guardian! Isn't that exciting? This guy Auron said that I could. Yunie warned me not to say anything about being Al Bhed, because this Wakka guy doesn't like the Al Bhed. Y'know, maybe he should try to get to know one! Like me! We're human too! Jeez.

Home is gone. Just like that. **Poof! **Up in smoke. Godamn Guado. Couldn't they leave well enough alone? Well… nothing to do now except go find Yunie. Oh yeah, did I mention that? She went missing after we killed Seymour in Macalania. And I don't even wanna talk about him he just makes me so mad. Y'know, I think I'm gonna stop with this stupid journal. I mean, why did I even start it anyway? Rrgh… goodbye readers!

**I had to do so much research for this chapter. I was running on mountain dew hehehe. And eggs… but that's not important. What's REALLY important is the hopefulness ahead YAAAAY! Okay bye I'm gonna go work on the next chapter.**


	11. Hello

**I decided it might be fun to stick to the script for this chapter, so sorry if I sound copy-ish. I had to read the script and watch the video for this, which was fun, cuz I like this scene! I'm probably gonna go pretty off FFX-2 storyline after this. Anywayz, enjoy.**

Rikku felt as anxious as she had ever been. _Why oh why do we have to go to Djose Temple? What does Yunie wanna do there anyway? _DIG?Rikku screamed and whined in her sub-consciousness as the airship sped towards the temple.

When they got to the temple, everyone turned to watch the three girls.

"Everyone's staring." Yuna said, taking some steps back. _Psh. As if she doesn't know!_ Rikku looked to her and realized she really didn't know.

"You're famous, Yunie! Better get used to it." Rikku replied bluntly, as if she was saying to her, "Tough luck." Yuna tilted her head back and to the side a bit.

"All I want's some peace and quiet." She whined. Rikku turned to Paine, the third in their Gullwings Trio.

"Poor thing. She's led such a sheltered life." She said in a half whisper to her.

"Maybe she's getting old." Said Paine dully, also whispering. Yuna spun around.

"Who's getting old?" She said accusingly. Rikku took a step back. Yuna whirled around and continued on. Rikku and Paine stayed where they were for a moment. Rikku heard footsteps behind her and felt her heart stop as she realized whose arm had brushed against hers. _G-Gippal?_ Of course. He was the _leader_ now. Yuna turned. Apparently she had heard his steps as well. He passed by her without even looking. He didn't look at Rikku either. _Well that's a fine way to say hello! Why's he ignoring me?_ Rikku thought. _I'm kinda noticeable!_ Rikku came up to Yuna once she regained a bit of control and put her hands on her arm.

"That's Gippal, leader of the Machine Faction. He can be kind of annoying, but he's alright." She said, as if he were her brother, _not_ her ex.

"Okay let's do some interviews! Bring it!" Gippal said. Rikku felt her heart melt and freeze at the same time. Both in longing and in a slight embarrassment. She shook her head. _Same old Gippal._ Yuna laughed quietly.

"Yeah, he seems alright." She said. The three waited in line, Rikku impatiently, to get ok-ed for an interview. Rikku didn't understand why she was waiting here to talk to Gippal when she could talk to him whenever she wanted, but she guessed it was different for Yuna and Paine. She walked around, talking to some of the Al Bhed, some of which she knew. Yuna and Paine just waited n line. Finally, the man in the shop told them they could go in and get an interview. Rikku marched up to the doors and pushed them open to see Gippal standing there, talking to some other workers.

"One of you guys take over." He said to them in Al Bhed. Rikku smiled when she saw him, the immediately wiped it away. _Nothing happened, remember?_

"Gippal!" One of the guards yelled to him. Gippal turned, and didn't seem to comprehend that it was Rikku as he walked over to him. She knew he wouldn't blow "cover" but she expected him to react… a little bit? He stopped and seemed to think for a moment until he turned and looked at the trio.

"Huh?" Gippal said, all eyes for Yuna. Rikku felt as if steam were coming out of her ears. She wanted to yell, "Gippal! It's me! Rikku! I missed you! Say _hello_ you ass! I thought you were dead for a year!" At the same time, she wanted to cry that Gippal seemed someone _attracted_ to Yuna. Rikku could understand. Who wouldn't? But Gippal? _Her_ Gippal? _Of course my Gippal…he dated everyone else before me. I wasn't some apocalypse._

"Hello." Yuna said in a friendly tone.

"You, uh, here for an interview?" Gippal asked, still only looking at Yuna.

"Uh huh!" Yuna said, nodding, apparently not picking up on his confusion.

"The great high summoner wants an interview?" Gippal said. This time Yuna seemed to understand.

"_Former_ summoner." Yuna corrected, facing off to Gippal's height.

"Hmm…" Gippal hummed, rubbing the back of his head. "Alright, follow me." He said, walking out of the temple. Rikku felt her heart sinking further and further down her chest. _Gippal…?_

The three followed him, finding him on the bridge talking to a man. He turned to them when he was finished. He dipped in close to Yuna, and she immediately leaned back.

"Never been this close to a celebrity before." He drawled, studying Yuna's face.

"That's nice." Yuna said, obviously trying hard to be polite.

"I could get used to this." Gippal stated, balancing on one leg. (A/N Kinda like a flamingo, though I couldn't put that in 'cause I'm not sure if there are flamingos in Spira)

"Let's not." Yuna said, turning away. Rikku couldn't help but smile. _Gippal's gone from heart breaker to just plain creepy. Poor guy._ Gippal turned for the first time to look at the other two. His sweeping gaze landed directly on Rikku's eyes. She felt as if her heart rate tripled. It stopped sinking and leaped back up, missing its mark and landing in her throat. She couldn't have smiled more broadly. Until she saw an expression on Gippal's face for a split second. It seemed like he was in pain. _He remembers alright…_ She thought, her smile also dying down for a moment. He then put on a smile just like hers, and she knew from all the years of knowing him that it wasn't fake. She beamed once again after that.

"Well, if it isn't Cid's Girl! How you been?" He said, taking a few steps toward her. She put on a face of fake anger.

"Hey, I have a name!" She said, aiming a punch in his direction. His left side seemed to lean towards her a bit, while his right arm hung back towards the center of the group.

"Brother doing okay?" He asked, a note of laughter in the back of his voice. He probably meant, "Brother doing okay in _my _zone?" Rikku fought the urge to raise an eyebrow.

"Same as ever." She said, meaning "Don't worry, he still hates you." "Buddy's around too." She said, swinging her arms up once and then letting them hang again. Gippal laughed a bit.

"Same as ever is right…" he said, letting his words hang in the air. He then turned his gaze on Paine. He to shuffling steps toward her. Rikku's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Paine. Nice to meet you." Paine said as if she had no idea why he was so surprised. Rikku was still suspicious.

"Uhhh…huh." Gippal said, more of a question then comprehension.

"We're here for the interview." Paine said in a pressing tone. Rikku understood. _Somethings going on with those two. Well, she'll have her Gippal secret, and I'll have mine._

"Riiight… the interview." Gippal repeated absentmindedly. He turned and faced Yuna.

"You sure you wanna dig? 'Cause we're talking about the desert ladies. Not exactly a picnic." He said warningly. Yuna stood in a thoughtful position.

"We're sure." Yuna said, nodding.

"Alright, you're hired. Welcome." Gippal said, as if he didn't really care.

"Huh?" Yuna asked.

"You. Are. Hired." He said, turning away. "Don't know why a superstar like you would wanna play in the sand." He mumbled after. He shook his head. "Well, do what you gotta do. Anyways, I've done what I can. Dig to your hearts content." Gippal said, his back still turned to them. He seemed to have avoided Rikku's drilling stare since he had spoken to her.

"Umm… thanks." Yuna said, as if she didn't understand him. He turned and stepped towards Yuna.

"Show this letter to a woman named Nhadala. You'll find her in the Bikanel Desert." He said, handing Yuna an envelope. "Happy digging." He said in a singsong voice as he walked off the bridge towards the temple. Rikku watched after him, wishing he would turn around to look at her. Do _something_.

**_Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken._**


	12. Forget Me Not

**Yaaaay! happy dance**

**Update August 10th: I realized that about one sentance was in first person hehe. Must've gone blank. Anyways, it's fixed now!**

The airship stayed over Djose Temple for the night. After she had eaten a small dinner, she told Brother that she was going out.

"Going out _where_?" he asked.

"Out, okay?!" she yelled, hardly feeling like being pressed at the moment. "I'm just gonna buy some stuff." She said, jumping out of the ship.

"You can buy stuff here!!!" Brother yelled from the door. Rikku rolled her eyes and proceeded towards the Temple.

As usual, there were guards at the door.

"Sorry Rikku, you can't come in now." One of the guards said wearily. Rikku glared at him.

"Oh _really?_" She practically yelled. "Y'know, I had to knock a few guards out and Yunie's concert and you guys are no different seeing as my father OWNS YOU!" she said, yelling the last part. She was tired and not exactly in the best mood. The guard sighed.

"Fine but _try_ and be kinda quiet. The boss is sleeping." He said, moving his machina down.

"Not for long." Rikku mumbled, opening the doors. She walked straight to the only room that had a bed in it and swung open the doors. To her surprise, Gippal _was_ asleep. He was completely wrapped up in his blanket, mumbling inaudible things. Rikku thought for a moment to just back out of the room. She shook her head as if to rattle the thought out of her brain and marched over to him. She grabbed the end of the cover and pulled it away from him, revealing the rest of his body to whatever cold there was in the room. He stirred and groped around, trying to find the blanket again. Instead, he grabbed Rikku's hand. She felt a shiver run up her spine as his callused hand gripped hers. His good eye slowly flickered open to stare at her hands. He tilted his head for a moment, as if confused, then looked up. He looked completely stunned.

"Oh, shit…" he whispered. "Rikku…" She smiled at him in a scornful way.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" she hissed. "I mean I know I told you to pretend… but what was _that_ all about! I didn't tell you to ignore me! I thought you were dead until this year, and then I never heard from you! Why didn't you come back?" she said, more concern and desperation in her voice now.

"I did come back… but when I did, you weren't there. Cid said you never came back from trying to nab a summoner. _I _thought _you_ were dead! Until of course I heard that you became a sphere hunter. What was that about?" he said, sitting up and rolling to sit on the side of his bed.

"Why would I be _dead_?" Rikku asked, throwing her arms up in the air.

"There were _five_ guardians! You're machina blew up! You did a really nice job of informing everyone that you were alive and a _guardian_!" He said, resting his chin on his knuckles once he finished. Rikku couldn't really believe that some people thought she was dead.

"Still, I would've appreciated it all the more if you had decided to… _acknowledge_ that I was there in front of you! After two years!" She whimpered. Gippal stood up, towering over her.

"You want me to acknowledge it?" he said, standing up.

"Yes!" Rikku said, relieved he was getting the point.

"Fine!" he said. Too swift for Rikku to react to, Gippals arms flew out. One snaked around her waist, while the other took the back of her head and pulled her over to him. His lips gently touched down on hers, and she remembered how she had felt like their lips were made to fit each others. She stared over his shoulder at the spot he used to be, her lips not immediately forming to his. But, he stayed persistent. Eventually, she opened her mouth and allowed herself to be carried away into it. _I can't believe I'm making out with Gippal… again…_ She wasn't happy that it had ended like this. Or was she…? She had hoped to come out the victor in the argument. Instead, she came out the once again jumped. Her attention somehow turned into a giddy repetitiveness of saying in her mind over and over _Open, closed, open, closed…_She wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand tangling in his hair. Somehow, Rikku found herself on top of Gippal on his bed, his arms now wrapped tightly around her waist. She couldn't remember getting there, but she couldn't remember how long she had been kissing him either. She didn't mind for some reason though. She would have time to be angry later. For now, she just wanted to stay like this. Remember the times when things were perfect.

It felt like hours until there was a creak.

" Rikku, I—oh…" said the guard from before at the door. Rikku immediately sprang away from Gippal, rolling off of him onto the floor.

"I-I'm leaving s-soon…" she said, getting up and rubbing her back from her fall. Gippal had a slightly stunned look on his face. The guard turned, obviously uncomfortable, and left the room. Rikku spun around, ready to finally have her dramatic exit, when Gippal's arms swooped down on her and picked her up into the bear hug of her _life_.

"I missed you, kid." He mumbled into her neck.

"Awww, I missed you too fishy." She said with a giggle, hugging him just as tight. "Now, _put me down_! I'm not fifteen anymore y'know! Times have changed. I'm wearing a miniskirt! Isn't that different?" she said, wiggling to get out of his grip. He laughed and let her down, and studied her face.

"Well, you're wearing the earring I gave you." He said.

"Huh?!" she whispered, her hand flying to her ear. The earring _was_ there. "Hehe… yeah." She took her hand away and looked closely at him. "Where's _yours_? You didn't lose it did you?" Gippal reached under his shirt and pulled out the feather.

"Don't worry, Rikku. I still got it. You're lucky the Crimson Squad didn't find it. They would've thought it was some Al Bhed sign and taken it." He said, laughing faintly. They stared at each other for a moment. Gippal reached out slowly and rested his fingertips on Rikku's cheek. He stepped towards her and kissed her lightly.

"When're you coming back?" he asked.

"Sometime soon. Don't you worry! This is _not_ the last of _me_!" she said. With that, she spun around and walked out of the door. _Siiiigh…_


	13. Headstrong

**Well, we are nearing the end of this fanfic my friends… or are we??? I'm kinda making this up as I go along with a bit of knowingness in it haha. Might not be ending for quite a bit... ahaha... ENJOY!**

_**Sometime when the Gullwings decide to start helping people out and Nooj and Baralai go missing (GASP! **__**OO**_

Rikku knew she was dancing on the spot as the airship flew towards Djose Temple. But she couldn't sit still very easily. _Gippal! Gippal! Gippal!_ She hadn't gone to see him since she Yuna and Paine had gone to get interviewed for digging. Yuna kept them busy with all the people she wanted to visit, and Rikku didn't want to miss a thing. Still, she had told Gippal that night that she would come back soon. _Heehe._ Rikku thought, a blush rising to her face.

"Oh, come on Brother. I know you don't _do_ much around here, but could you go a _little_ faster?" Rikku whined pleadingly for the third time.

"Rikku! Mad'c drnuf oui uvv dra creb yht caa ruf muhk ed dygac oui du fymg du Djose vnus frana oui myht!" (Let's throw you off the ship and see how long it takes you to walk to Djose from where you land!) Brother snapped. It was obvious Brother was in no hurry to reunite her and Gippal. Rikku stared huffily forward for the rest of the five minutes it took to land.

Rikku was ahead of both Yuna and Paine when they got to the temple. Gippal looked over the shoulder of the Al Bhed he was talking to and saw Rikku wave once to him. He grinned and said one last thing to the Al Bhed, then started to walk towards the three. Rikku took a few eager steps toward him, hardly able to contain herself. She _wanted_ to tackle him and apologize for not coming sooner and for bringing the other two, but she _couldn't_ for a number of reasons that she refused to name to her sub consciousness. He didn't look as excited to see her, but she had always been the more energetic of the two.

"Hey, its Cid's little girl!" he said, putting out his hands and pushing her head lightly. Rikku stumbled back a bit for effect and held her head.

"I have a name…" she whined, feeling right back where she was three years ago. _Never Rikku, eh?_ Gippal smiled at her. She felt her anger wash quickly away and she grinned absently back.

"You seem close." Yuna said suggestively, staring mainly at Rikku. Gippal took a few steps towards Yuna.

"We made quite the couple." He said clearly, glancing over at Rikku and then back at Yuna with a proud smirk. Rikku felt herself go completely red. _I said acknowledge, not announce!_ Yuna gasped, looking from Gippal to Rikku. Rikku hurried over and pushed Gippal, causing him to stumble a few paces forward and look back at her with a kiddish glint.

"What are you saying?" She whined in Al Bhed, turning from him and pressing her hands to her face. She heard Gippal laugh behind her.

"Rikku's always good for a laugh" he said, still laughing and letting every word hang. Rikku turned back when she felt as though she had her red face under control.

"If you're here about digging, this isn't the best time." Gippal continued, looking intensely exhausted suddenly.

"Well, there were fiends here too, right? Want us to clean up for you?" Rikku said, taking several steps towards Gippal and pounding on an invisible fiend, most likely pictured as him. He turned away and walked a few paces.

"Fiend hunting?" Gippal said, still turned from them and looking to the sky, as if it would answer him the question he was thinking about. Rikku looked up momentarily until he spoke again. "What, you guys give up the sphere gig?" He added, turning to look at Yuna, and then turning his gaze to Rikku. There was something in his gaze that caused her to squirm a bit. But it was Yuna who answered.

"Temporarily." Yuna said. Gippal turned his head in her direction as she spoke. _Jeez. What was that all about…?_ Rikku thought absentmindedly. "Maybe… you'd like to hire us?" Yuna said persuasively, looking hopeful. Buddy waited on the outskirts of the temple, ready to handle the money, while Shinra checked up on his CommSphere. Gippal paused and smirked at Yuna.

"Nope." He said bluntly. "You already took care of Sin. We can't go running to you every time we get into trouble." He said, turning threateningly towards Yuna. Yuna wrung her fingers together as he advanced on her slightly. Rikku wanted to step in front of him, because she knew what he was like when he was tired, most likely hungry and stressed. Monstrous. But soon, his livid face turned soft again and his gaze swept over the three.

"Humph… I watch my own back." He scoffed. Rikku sniffed.

"Show-off!" She said, pointing a finger at him. He chuckled a bit, then turned back towards the temple.

"Well, be careful." Yuna said. Gippal turned back as if he just wanted to leave.

"You too…" he said.

"Right." Yuna said. Rikku looked from Gippal to Yuna, then back to Gippal, and then glared at him until she was sure a hole would bore into him.

"Don't look at me like that." He said to her, taking a step towards her and bending down, causing Yuna to lean forward excitedly. Rikku immediately turned her head away. She wasn't about to make her craze for him public just yet. But it turned out he wasn't trying to kiss her.

"Come here tonight if you can. I've missed you." Gippal whispered in her ear. Her eyes flicked to see Yuna and Paine looking curiously at the pair. Rikku felt his lips move away from her ear and touch lightly to her cheek, lingering there for a few long seconds until he made sure they would graze across her cheek, coming dangerously close to her lips as he straightened. She stared at him, feeling her eyes going bright as he gazed back at her with smugness. He turned and sauntered into the temple, leaving Rikku dumbstruck as Yuna rushed up to her repeating her name and trying to get her attention.

"Come on." Paine's voice came like a whip through Rikku's daze. She turned and scampered towards Paine, leaving Yuna trying to get information out of Rikku. Rikku just walked in a daze as they walked to finish the rest of Yuna's daily "To-do List".

They ate dinner later in bed that night. Rikku slowly drank her soup, not wanting Gippal to think she had _nothing_ to do at night. She decided to give him another ten o'clock visit, though she had a feeling he would be awake with fiends coming out of the temples. Not exactly an option whether he wants to sleep in his room or not.

"Come on Rikku, please?" Yuna begged.

"Yunie, this is just like when we tried to get Paine to tell us about her past… who _cares_ what happened? It's in the past!"

"So something _did_ happen! What? Oh, you can tell me Rikku!" Yuna said, crawling closer to Rikku and leaning in eagerly.

"No! I'm going out for awhile. And do _not_ ask me questions when I get back." Rikku said, standing up and handing her plate to Barkeep.

"Going to see Gippal?" Paine asked blandly, speaking for the first time. Rikku turned to see a slight smile on her face that shocked Rikku for a moment.

"Mm-hm." Rikku said shortly, and left for the elevator. She heard Yuna squeal and interrogate Paine if she knew anything and she pressed for the button to go to the deck.


	14. Heart and Soul Part 1

**This chapter includes Yuna getting overexcited about simple things, Rikku and Gippal in a cliché moment, Brother being confronted, Yuna and Paine becoming secret agents, and Rikku having an emotional breakdown. Enjoy!**

**We're going to look in on Yuna and Paine now**

Yuna stood up.

"Well, c'mon!" Yuna said briskly, jumping from the landing. Paine leaned on the railing.

"Where?" she asked, clearly not thrilled to see where this was going.

"Well, I wanna see Gippal kiss Rikku again! That was so sweet! He closed his _eyes_! Well, eye, but you know what I mean. And she blushed like CRAZY! I think he really _loves_ her!" Yuna was obviously getting carried away, making elaborate hand motions. Barkeep and Paine stared blankly at the jumping bean. Brother had a crazed look in his eye, and Buddy looked slightly afraid of Yuna. Shinra's expression remained a mystery. Paine imagined Yuna had not seen people kiss often to know that both ends usually close their eyes.

"I'm sure this _he_ that you and Rikku talk about closed _his_ eyes when he kissed you." Paine said, still not buying into this plan. Yuna flinched back at what Paine said as though she had been pinch on her cheek, though she quickly recovered. "And besides, if he loves her I'm sure Rikku wouldn't want you getting involved in their relationship." Paine added on. "Besides, she was all he could ever talk about. I think they'll be just fine." She mumbled with a note of amusement.

"Hm? So you _did_ know him!" Yuna said, pointing at Paine. Paine shrugged.

"Awhile ago. All he could talk about was Rikku and about how he was going to take her to all the places we went when he got back." She said more loudly so she could hear. Yuna stared up at her, her eyes glinting as if there was fire inside them.

"Come on! Please?" she said, clasping her hands together. Paine sighed.

"Alright, fine." She said, sighing and wondering what she was getting herself into. Yuna yelped and ran for the elevator, with a hurried explanation to Brother.

"If that Gippal is there give him a smack for me!" Brother called after Yuna. Paine turned to him.

"Why won't you do it yourself?" she asked. Brother froze for a moment.

"Because! I'm the only person keeping this ship from spinning out of control!" he stated in his thick accent that almost made Paine want to laugh. _Almost_.

"Then why are you here in the cabin?" Yuna said, coming back and waiting in the doorway for Paine. Brother turned back to his food and grunted, pretending he didn't understand. Yuna giggled and turned back to the elevator, Paine walking slowly there. Shinra and Buddy looked at each other momentarily until they continued eating as though nothing had happened, while Brother mumbled things in Al Bhed about "no good, ungrateful" something or others, mostly directed at Paine.

**Rikku**

Rikku walked slowly towards the temple, trying to make out who it was at the front. She passed one of the pillars when a hand snaked out and grabbed hers, spinning her around until she was somehow against the wall. She found herself staring up at Gippal, who put both his hands on the wall next to her shoulders so she couldn't slip away. Not that either of them were expecting her to.

"Surprise!" Gippal said, smiling at Rikku.

"Eh, not really. I could've seen it coming if I wasn't so worried about my latest interrogation." Rikku said, shrugging. Gippal seemed to look concerned, but he was also interested.

"Interrogation?" he repeated. She waved her hand in dismissal.

"Yunie wants to know about you."

"And did you tell her?" Gippal asked hopefully. Rikku frowned at him and looked down.

"No, not yet. If you don't want me to keep it a secret, I won't." she said. He grinned and shook his head.

"As long as I have you back, I don't care what happens." She and Gippal met each other halfway as Gippal slid his hands down and around her slender waist as Rikku put both her arms around his neck, pushing his head roughly closer to hers with her hand on the back of his head. One of his hands trailed down her hip to her thigh and held onto the edge of her khaki skirt. Rikku just knew there would be a dent in the pillar from where her head had been by how hard Gippal was pressing his lips against hers. He seemed slightly _desperate_. Like it would be a long time till he saw her again. She broke away from him and watched him apprehensively. She was taking deep breaths in a slight pant as he stared back at he, panting as well, though not as much as Rikku. After a moment, he seemed to realize what her look meant. He wrapped his arms around her so tightly she was sure that she would pop any second.

"You worry me running around out there with Brother and all those fiends at your ankles. And plus all these politics. I can't keep an eye on you like I used to." He said, his voice muffled by her hair. He kissed her head once then turned his head to rest his cheek on her soft hair. Rikku grinned and closed her eyes again, leaning the side of her head on his shoulder. She opened her eyes long enough to see a whirl of blue go behind a bush in a desperate attempt to hide. She sighed deeply and leaned fully against Gippal, causing him to tighten his grip and bit and take one step back.

"Something wrong?" he asked, stroking the back of her head as though trying to smooth down the mass of golden hair she had. She turned her head and talked into his heart beat.

"Mah 'riends hollowed meh 'ere…" (A/N: Translation- My friends followed me here. Even though I'm sure you could get that on your own, I had to cover my mouth with my hand to see how it sounded, hehe) she mumbled, closing her eyes. Her head jolted back a moment as Gippal laughed softly. Her nose bumped against his hard chest again when she came back.

"Eow…" she mumbled, rubbing her nose. That got Gippal to laugh harder than she had seen him laugh since she had first seen him after two years. She pushed him while slightly laughing herself. "It's not funny! How much work do you do? I think you bruised my nose." She said. His arms encased her, and Rikku realized she had given him quite an invitation.

"A lot. Wanna feel?" Gippal said with a Gippal-ish grin. Rikku pushed him off.

"Geroff me." She said, allowing Gippal to grab her hand and pull her into another warm hug anyway. He bent down his head and rested his forehead against hers. They stood like that for a few minutes, swaying their weight from side to side and staring into each others eyes until Gippal pulled Rikku down to sit against the wall. He wrapped his arm around her and she snuggled into him, desperately hoping she would fall asleep against him.

**Back to Yuna and Paine, Yuna being a snoopy little… snoop**

Yuna and Paine sneaked over to one of the bushes outside the temple and watched Rikku walking tentatively towards the temple.

"Where _is_ he?" Yuna hissed, looking around frantically, until she saw Rikku get pulled into a dark corner. "Come on Paine!" Yuna said leaping out from behind the bush and running forward, fussing behind another so she could see the pair. Paine walked slowly to the bush, watching the ground so she wouldn't fall in one of the holes Gippal's crash landing machina made constantly. Yuna grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly down. She watched as Gippal kissed Rikku roughly. Yuna squealed and pawed at Paine's arm without turning her head. After a few minutes, they stopped and Rikku looked accusingly at Gippal. _What? WHAT? Rikku? Kiss him!_ Yuna screamed in her mind. Then, Gippal hugged Rikku so tightly that even Yuna could see the pressure of it. Apparently what he whispered to her then satisfied her, and she snuggled closely into his arms.

Yuna hadn't realized she was standing up until Paine grabbed her wrist as Rikku opened her eyes. It seemed too late though. Rikku turned her head and said something to Gippal. He laughed shortly, causing Rikku to bump her nose against his chest. She didn't seem to notice that he put one hand under her chin and one on the back of her head to make sure he hadn't hurt her. Yuna felt herself smiling. They seemed like such a comical and ironic pair. Gippal took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her with a smirk on his face. Rikku pushed him, only to be pulled right back to him. Their foreheads rested against each others and Yuna watched as Rikku's eyes seemed to shine with the stars. From the way Gippal stared back at her, he seemed to think so too. _Aww they definitely love each other!_

"Paine we have to get them back together!" Yuna said, clenching her fists purposefully.

"Looks to me like they're "together"." Paine replied, watching them. "Look, they're moving." She said, as though she were watching a wild animal. (sarcastically, of course) Gippal and Rikku were leaning against the wall, staring up at the stars. At least, Gippal was. Rikku stared longingly at Gippal. He seemed to notice her stare and turned his head, putting two fingers under her chin and kissing her lightly. Her entire chest seemed to expand when he did, like she was taking a deep breath, and when he took his lips away from hers, she stared at him disbelievingly for a moment. Then, she turned away hugging her knees and buried her face in her arms. Gippal seemed to gape at her. Yuna did too. Was she _crying_?

"We should go." Paine said, pulling on Yuna's arm.

"But-!"

"Yuna! This is not something for us to eavesdrop on!" And that was the end of it as Paine marched away. Yuna reluctantly followed, looking back at the pair and mumbling ruefully,

"We couldn't even hear them…"

**_So why don't you stop and take a break, then?_**


	15. Heart and Soul Part 2

**Back to Rikku( and sentimental moments that are almost too fluffy to stand!)**

Rikku watched Gippal's face with an emotion she couldn't explain. She was… afraid? Maybe. Gippal turned to her and put his fingers under her chin, kissing her lightly. Rikku took in a deep breath and felt the strangest thing. _Tears. I'm going to cry…_ When Gippal pulled away, Rikku stared at him like it was his fault. But she didn't want him to see. She was ashamed that she was crying over something she couldn't even figure out. She turned away and held herself the same way she had held herself for hours on end the day he had left and let the tears fall.

"Rikku!" Gippal said with an alarmed tone. Rikku turned to him quickly and grabbed his forearm with both her hands, holding tightly. He winced from more of surprise at the sudden movement than pain.

"I don't want you to leave again! I have a feeling you will and I don't know what I'll do if you do leave and… and I feel ridiculous now for ruining something that could be the second best night I've had with you but I want to know if you're just gonna up and leave at any moment! Are you?" She said in about two breaths. Gippal stared at her with an emotion that wasn't calm, to Rikku's relief, but he wasn't fazed by her outburst either. He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers.

"If I can help it, I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry." He said. Rikku looked down at the dirt and nodded, using the hand that Gippal wasn't holding onto to wipe her tears away.

"Y-you're different Gippal." She said, now down with a bad case of the hiccups. He seemed to think for a moment, and then laughed.

"Yeah, we're two years older now. I guess we've moved on from whipped cream wars." He said, with a strange longing. _Maybe he misses not being "Gippal the Machine Faction leader"._

"And to what? Tongue wars?" Rikku said. Gippal smiled and looked at her, reaching out and twirling a lock of her blonde hair around his finger. He let go of the strand and let his fingers drag along her cheek. Rikku wanted to keep eye contact with him, but found herself nonetheless closing her eyes as his fingers trailed over her skin in such a loving way. He traced her jaw and as soon as he got to her chin, he leaned against her forehead with his own again and said to her,

"What was your _first_ best night with me?" Of course. He'd never be able to resist for long. Rikku giggled shortly.

"You're _hopeless_. Let's see... I would have to say it's a tie between Operation Make Everything Better and then night after that. O.M.E.B was the first time you kissed me, besides Fruna's party, which I think didn't count, and the night after was the night that you told me you loved me. Girls, we don't forget these things." She said, opening her eyes and gazing into Gippal's. He had a glazed stare at not particularly her. More like through her. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at him. "And I guess I just reminded you of it, huh?" she said. He grinned and shook his head.

"Mm-mm." he leaned forward and kissed her the exact same way he had the first time. It was only a light one that lasted less than a second, but the feeling it gave seemed to last a lifetime. She grinned and snuggled into his arm again, feeling insanely tired.

"You better not move. You're my pillow for the night. I don't plan to leave here until Yuna comes looking for me. Then, I can tell her all about you." she said lazily, already feeling the clouds of dream pressing into her mind.

"Don't worry. I'm not moving." Gippal mumbled as he rested the side of his head on hers. The second to last thing Rikku thought about was if Yuna and Paine had left yet. The last thought was about how many children she wanted to have with Gippal.

Rikku woke as she felt a pressure come away from her. She looked up and saw Gippal rubbing the back of his neck with a look of pain. She grinned. _Right… we slept on a wall._ He looked down at her and grinned.

"My neck hurts… morning." He mumbled. Rikku wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes.

"I've slept in more uncomfortable places. I had to sleep in my airship seat once." She said to him. He cringed at the thought. Airship seats were only comfortable for about an hour.

"Today's gonna be a pain." Gippal stated as he put his hand down and around her. "More answering to angry Al Bhed wives of exactly_ why_ their husbands can't come home if it's so dangerous. And, I've gotta send some people _in_ before those fiends come _out_." He continued. Rikku grinned.

"And I have to go explain to Brother _why_ I was out all night and explain to Yuna what happened _while_ I was out here all night. Yunie and Paine know I'm here but I told them so Brother couldn't hear." Rikku said. Gippal shivered at the thought of Brother's wrath. He wasn't particularly scared of Brother, Rikku knew. But it would be a bad thing to put up with when he was so tired. Rikku reached up and put her hand on Gippal's cheek. He looked down at her, leaning his head into her hand. She smiled at a thought that came to her head.

"Y'know, I thought that being eighteen would make you flirtier. Turns out your only half of what you used to be. What happened to Mister Octopus?" she said, letting her hand drop. Gippal laughed shortly.

"Well when you're leader of the Machine Faction and people are running around constantly asking you what the hell they should do even though half of it is common sense, you kinda lose the time to be flirty. What about you? Any guys I should know about in the past two years?" Gippal asked. It all seemed so irrelevant to the past topic that it caught Rikku off guard. She stopped to think for a moment.

"Hmmm… well there was a _few_… dozen…" Rikku mumbled. Gippals hair almost had a gravitational tug he looked so dejected. "Oh, I'm kidding! I can't even remember if there was. And how 'bout you? Did you forget about me in the past two years?" Gippal's hair had sprung back into a lively state.

"Nah. Crimson Squad kept me busy. The only girl there was P-" He stopped short. Rikku already knew who. She got onto her knees and looked at him accusingly.

"_Paine_?" She said. Gippal turned to her with a sunny smile.

"No, the praetors!" he said sarcastically. Rikku scowled.

"Did something happen with you and Paine?" She growled. She wasn't sure if she would mind or not if there had been something.

"No!" Gippal said, putting his hands up as if she had a gun. "There wasn't anything! She told me not to tell you though! Ah, shit, she's gonna kick my ass now…" he said, dropping his hands and staring at the ground.

"Are you lying to me?" Rikku asked. Gippal sighed and rolled his head back.

"Noooo…" he said. "D'you have to bug me this early?" he asked.

"Well, you _have_ taught me over the years not to trust you that much." Gippal just sighed and threw his hands up in exasperation. Rikku huffed and stood up. Gippal did too. "I'll come back later… maybe tonight." Rikku mumbled and set off briskly. She turned around when she was sure she was far enough and saw people crowding around Gippal. He pushed them all away and walked towards one of the machina, looking it over. Rikku turned back around after that and waved her hands.

"Bah. Who needs him anyway? I'll just ask Paine."

**_There are times when it doesn't work out._**


	16. Heart and Soul Part 3

**I feel like this story is going downhill from when Gippal left. What do you think? Oh well, enjoy! P.S. I know Yuna is OOC but I love depicting her as a hyperactive sort. **

Rikku burst into the cabin and marched up to the beds where Yuna and Paine sat, eating breakfast. Paine tried to avoid eating with Brother at the bar, and Yuna kept her company, thus always leading to breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed.

"Paine!" she yelled, causing Yuna to drop her spoon in surprise. It wasn't often that they saw Rikku in a temper. Rikku saw this and became calmer. She sat down next to Paine and looked her in the eyes. "Just tell me the truth, 'cause I know he won't. Did you go out with Gippal?" Rikku asked, her tone sounding like she was begging. Paine just stared at her, and then turned back to her cereal. (A/N: Yes Paine lurves cereal)

"Other than a friendship, no. Why do you ask?" she said, her tone the same as always. Rikku jumped up and spun around a few times, letting out a yelp of joy. She decided on the way there that she would be easily convinced.

"Just wondering." She said in a sing-song tone. She then froze on the spot and her hands shot up to her mouth.

"Shit! I yelled at him and now he's probably mad at me! Aww, but I don't wanna say sorry to _him_!" she whined. Yuna grabbed her wrist and pulled her down.

"What _happened_ last night? You never came back! Did you hug him, did you even _see_ him, did you _kiss,_ what was it like, did you fall asleep where we saw you or go into his room, did you sleep _with_ him or _sleep_ with him?" Yuna said in a dizzyingly fast pace. Rikku thought about all of them and ticked off the answers on her fingers.

"Yes, yes, _yes_, indescribable, outside, slept _with_ him, and I KNEW you followed me!" she said, pushing Yuna gently.

"Well… yeah… but can you blame us? You and Gippal?! This is so exciting! Are you just seeing each other or are you dating? _Were_ you dating?" Yuna asked again quickly.

"Nuh-uh. Not getting off the point. You followed me! That was _private_!" she snapped.

"Making out behind a wall is private?" Paine asked dully. Rikku turned and sneered, seeing past Paine's mask a look of triumph. "So was it with tongue or without?" Paine asked, being unusually nosey.

"_With_ thank you very much!"

"OOO when did you first kiss him?!" Yuna said, all bubbly and such.

"When I was twelve." Rikku mumbled. She didn't know why she was telling the truth, but there was no point in lying to them. They already knew. And besides, she wanted to tell them anyway. "We were playing spin-the-bottle at my friend's thirteenth birthday party. Of course then I didn't like him. Our first _real_ kiss was I think a week after you became a summoner Yunie…" and so she continued, telling them the whole story of Gippal-world. _Once you're in, you can never come back._ When Rikku finished, she looked up to see Yuna's bewildered face and Paine's same as ever face.

"Ohhh Rikku it's so romantic in such an odd sort of way! I wonder if you'll get married." Yuna said, apparently going into a daydream. Rikku leaped up.

"What?!"

"You never know! Oh, you guys look so sweet together."

"Yuna…" Paine grumbled.

"How does he get his hair like that? It's almost like Paine's, only Paine's is natural. His couldn't be natural, could it?"

"Yuna…" Paine chimed again.

"I mean, he would have to use a _bottle_ of gel to get it _that_ way. Do you think I should cut the hair on the back of my head? I keep stepping on it. Maybe I'll get a few inches off, but not all of it."

"Yuna!" Paine yelled, coming up behind Yuna and covering her mouth. Yuna waved her arms in the air for a few moments with suppressed squealing, and then stopped, staring grumpily at the ceiling, most likely trying to get to Paine.

"Well… I'm going back to see him tonight. I just hope he's not mad." Rikku said. Paine scoffed. Rikku looked at her with an eyebrow raised, and Paine just shrugged as she let go of Yuna.

"He doesn't seem to be the type to get angry if he's confronted." She said lazily, picking up her bowl and continuing with her breakfast. Rikku remembered the time she had yelled at him for being such a player, and he hadn't cared then. She smiled and nodded.

"Gotcha! So, where're we going today?" she asked, leaning forward easily. Yuna consequently pulled out a small queue card.

Rikku walked _very_ slowly on the bridge to Djose Temple. Paine had reassured her that Gippal wouldn't be angry, but she still had a feeling something wasn't going to go as planned. _Nothing usually does go as planned when he's around. _She was also very tired from the days events of running around and helping people out". She stepped into the courtyard, but Gippal wasn't there. She stopped and Al Bhed for a moment and asked,

"Where's Gippal?" She had a harsher tone than she had hoped, but most of the Faction already knew she was mad at him. She thought she saw the Al Bhed almost smirk when he said,

"In his room." And with that he left her. She went to the doors and swung them open hastily, walking through the temple's main room and going to the door on the left. (Gippal's room, somehow I imagine it being on the left.) She didn't bother to knock, and pushed on the door till it opened. She at first didn't see Gippal- just legs. Then she looked lower. Gippal had his back on the floor with his legs on the bed, and held a half empty bottle in his right hand.

"Oh, it's just you… Hey." He grumbled, his words slurring. He drank from the bottle until it was empty and then turned it upside down, shaking it as if he hoped more would come and splash onto the ground. He sighed when nothing came and let it roll on the ground, joining about five other bottles. Rikku looked at the entire scene.

"First off, that's a fine way to say hello! Second, what are you _doing_?" She said, still looking at all the bottles. _He's gonna be _really_ drunk._

"I'm tired… I need and hangover so I have an excuse to stay in bed tomorrow." He mumbled, swinging his legs off the bed and crawling over to a small refrigerator. He opened it and looked around inside, as if deciding whether a can or a bottle was what he wanted now. Rikku sighed and sat next to him on the floor once he had picked one out and opened it.

"Y'know there are other ways to get out of work without giving yourself a hangover." She said. Gippal only looked expectantly at her. She sighed and continued. "You could play hookey!" Gippal stared blankly back. Rikku gave another exasperated sigh. "Y'know, skip and go somewhere far away from here! Maybe I would go with you?" She said. He had seemed to have forgotten her getting mad at him, and she was more than happy to forget. He stared at her for a moment then lifted his hand. He started to flick the orange feather in her ear continuously as if it never got old. He snorted with laughter and got a childish grin. He kept flicking the earring until he broke out into silent yet hysterical laughs. He rested his forehead on her shoulder as he laughed, occasionally making sounds, but not often. Most of it was mute. He finally took a deep breath and bumped his head against the bed, mumbling,

"You should try getting drunk some time. It's really a lot of fun." He said while still giggling. Rikku just looked at him. She wanted to laugh at how silly he was being, but couldn't stand to show him she was amused. Gippal usually got on her nerves eventually if he was drunk. He smiled hopefully at her until she grabbed the bottle out of his hand.

"See! Cid's Girl can let loose every once in awhile!" he said, crawling to get another bottle for himself.

"What are you talking about? I always let loose. You're just never around to see it." She said, taking a large gulp from the bottle. Gippal was back next to her when she took the bottle away from her lips.

"Well, maybe I'd _like_ to be there, if you threw parties, but Brother must be obsessed with the well-being of the ship." He said, opening a can. Rikku thought for a moment.

"Actually, Buddy's the one who loves the ship. Took him awhile to find it. Not sure what Shinra would do if I threw a party. Probably would run off screaming that he's just a kid. Paine probably wouldn't be too happy, and Yunie might get all uncomfortable… Brother would probably go along with it if he didn't see you." Rikku said, assessing the idea of having a party on the airship. Gippal was almost finished his can when Rikku got halfway through hers. He watched her as she sipped from her bottle.

"You obviously don't go to bars often." Gippal said with a slight smile.

"I'm not going to a bar unless I wanna get laid real bad. And I know what will happen, because that's where _you_ go." She stated, taking another sip from her now almost empty bottle. Gippal stuck his tongue out at her and continued to talk about random things.

Some hours later and some 6 bottles and cans each later, Rikku and Gippal lay on the floor staring at the ceiling and laughing at an unknown thing. (A/N: Most likely they just finished singing the cake song. Heehe I LOVE that song!) Gippal flipped over so he was resting on his elbows and looked at Rikku upside down.

"So, are you gonna come to my birthday party?" he asked. Rikku remembered that his birthday was in two weeks. _Hah… and mines not long after that. I'll finally be eighteen!_ "The Faction says they're gonna throw a party for me here."

"In your bedroom? It's kinda tiny…"

"No, dope, in the Temple!"

"Oh… Yeah I'll bring Yunie and Paine with me. I think I'll leave Brother behind for this one." Rikku said, flipping over onto her stomach also. They stared at each other for a moment. Then Rikku finally blinked. Gippal rolled onto his back with his fists triumphantly in the air.

"Hahaha! Staring games are so much easier when you only have one eye to worry about, huh?" he said.

"You cheater!" Rikku said, pushing him.

"Hey, hey, hey nobody likes a sore loser Rikku!"

"Nobody likes a cheater Gippal!" Rikku said through laughs as she and Gippal wrestled. Of course, Rikku was pinned down to the ground. As good a fighter as she was, Gippal was the one who taught her how to fight, so she was no match for her teacher. He stared down at her with a look of excitement.

"You've gotten better Cid's Girl." He said, keeping her wrists pinned next to her ears.

"Well, y'know, guardian, sphere hunter, Gullwing, it all gives a bit of practice." She said, pretending to be modest. Just as she had expected, Gippal leaned down and kissed her lightly for only a second, then let go of her wrists and rolled off of her. He stood up shakily and walked to his bed, laying down on it.

"I need some sleep… you're welcome to join me." He said, holding a hand out to her. Rikku grinned.

"Hmm… tempting, but maybe another time when I'm not so smashed and my judgment isn't "impaired"." She said, standing up and opening the door. She turned and waved to him as he pulled the cover over his head. His hand poked out of the draping and waved a few times, then hung limp.

Rikku opened the door to the cabin and held onto the railing as she climbed up the stairs. Yuna and Paine looked her way. Rikku never understood why they were still awake.

"Have fun?" Yuna said, watching Rikku stumble towards her bed. Rikku giggled.

"Yurp…" she said as she fell onto it, either passed out or instantly asleep.

"Is she dead?" Yuna whispered to Paine.

"No. But she'll wish she was tomorrow." Paine said as she pulled the covers onto herself. Yuna sighed and turned the lamp off, crawling into her own bed.

**_Without hesitation, boys and girls._**


	17. Intermission

**This chapter's a lot of talk and no fun. I just put it in for the indication of Gippal's disappearance –GASP- NOOOO! –sniffle- anyway, enjoy if you can. Anyway, about the last chapter, the video in my head was absolutely hilarious about Gippal having some sort of Gippal Giggle fit, so I thought "How to do it?" and then my dad got a corona out and then I practically yelled at the computer "BEER!" haha.**

Rikku stretched out on her bed and recoiled as pain shot through her head.

"Ahhh… I should've never taken the goddamn beer!" she moaned, swinging her legs out of the bed and shuffling down to the bar.

"Hey Barkeep. Any left over eggs?" Rikku mumbled.

"Yesh." Barkeep replied, it being clear to him that conversation was not an option at the moment. Rikku hurriedly ate her food and ran up to the bridge, holding her head the entire time.

"Hey, what did I miss?" She asked. Yuna shrugged.

"Nothing much." She replied. "How's your head?" she added on. Rikku moaned.

"Horrible." She replied. "So, what's up with the fiends in all the temples?" Shinra spoke up this time.

"The fiends didn't come from the temples. They came from the Chambers of the Fayth." He stated. Rikku put a finger in the air as if a light bulb turned on.

"Right, exactly! But, why?" she asked, putting that finger to her temple in thought. Shinra was silent for a moment, until,

"I'm just a kid." Rikku groaned in exasperation and turned to Yuna and Paine. She started bouncing her weight from foot to foot as she waited for someone to speak up.

"The holes in the Chamber of the Fayth—were they there before?" Paine asked, looking at Yuna. Yuna shook her head.

"No." she stated.

"So, the holes must be new, right?" Rikku asked, even though it was a rhetorical question.

"There was one in Bevelle too. A great hole…" Paine stated. Rikku's mouth twisted in confusion.

"But, that one was created by Vegnagun wasn't it?" She asked.

"That's true, but they're connected somehow." Yuna said. Brother spoke up for the first time.

"The holes… are connected?" he asked Yuna. Yuna nodded._ Stupid Brother! Only in hoping Yuna will talk to him for once…_ Rikku grumbled in her head.

"Yes, but it's more than just that. Somehow I think there are deeper connections." She said, putting a thoughtful finger to her chin. Brother sighed, completely captivated by Yuna.

"That is deep, Yuna." Brother's daze and pose striking ceremony (A/N: He goes into a pretty funny position at this point) were interrupted by an alarm. Buddy jumped into his seat and read the notice.

"Distress call from Djose Temple." He stated.

"Djose? Is it Gippal?" Brother asked. Rikku snapped to attention as Buddy read over the letter.

"Hmmm… looks like they got into some trouble trying to clear out the fiends." He confirmed. Brother turned to the three girls.

"Right! Here's the order. Gullwings!" Brother said, taking a deep breath. Yuna and Rikku seemed to lean in anxiously. "Forget it! Let Gippal save himself." Brother said, waving his hands dismissively.

"_What_?" Rikku practically yelled, advancing on Brother. Brother seemed to go into a sulky stated.

"Gippal gets all the action." Brother said in Al Bhed. Rikku scoffed and turned away from him.

"Gimme a break!" She whined, also in Al Bhed. _Maybe if you got off your lazy ass and did some goddamn work you'd get some fucking action!_ (A/N: She's angry, I know.)

"Well Yuna?" Buddy said, looking apprehensively at Brother and Rikku as Rikku continued to throw acidic glares at him. Yuna seemed to think for only a moment.

"Well, we'll just have to charge him a little extra then. Gullwings, let's go!" Yuna said energetically.

"Aw, can't we give him a discount?" Was Rikku's final word in the matter as she crawled into her seat.

"Brother, why are we going to Bevelle first?" Rikku asked after about ten minutes of flying in Al Bhed.

"Because Yuna said so!" he screeched back, also in Al Bhed. Rikku sighed and fell silent for the rest of the trip. Brother dropped them off outside and they walked up the long venue, Rikku practically running.

"Can we hurry this up please?" she yelled from ahead, turning and running again. Paine sighed. Yuna giggled and started running as well. Paine ran too, only because she didn't want to be left behind by the two. The three walked into the temple quickly enough to see a flash of blonde hair and boots leave the upper level. Rikku quickly ran ahead of the other two. _Couldn't be… could it?_ They got to the passage that led to the hole Vegnagun made and sure enough, Gippal stood rubbing the back of his head in the small room before proceeding down the passage. The three came out and stood where Gippal once was.

"Huh? Was that…Gippal?" Rikku asked, turning to Yuna. She turned back towards the passage. "What's he doing here?"

"_You_ should know." Paine stated, clearly in a sour mood. Rikku sneered as they proceeded into the area that Gippal walked into, getting through all the security. They hid behind a wall and crowded around so they could see but remain hidden.

"Hey." Gippal said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and putting up and arm in an attempted wave. Rikku grinned. _I bet his hangover's worse than _mine

"You're late." Baralai said. Gippal just shrugged, reluctant to give an explanation.

"If you were on time then I'd really start to worry." Nooj said. Rikku imagined a very Gippal-ish smirk, though they couldn't see Gippal's face. Gippal walked towards the large hole and watched the pyreflies floating around aimlessly. Yuna grumbled something, but Rikku was transfixed with the scene. What was going _on_?

"Sure you should be here? The Youth League and New Yevon are crumbling without you guys to hold them together." Gippal said, a strange taunting in his voice. _Yaaah! Gippal! What're you doing here?_

"You expect too much." Nooj stated bluntly, as though it was the answer to the meaning of life question.

"Learn from us." Gippal said, glancing at Baralai. "So, why we here?" he asked, making it obvious he had things to do. Baralai turned towards them.

"There's something I need to be sure of." He said. "Vegnagun… is gone." He told them both. Gippal turned around to look at where Vegnagun used to be, then turned back to Nooj and Baralai. Nooj spoke up with amusement dripping from his words.

"Listen to you… 'Vegnagun is gone'" Nooj advanced on Baralai. "Are you trying to tell us that since it left on its own, Yevon's not to blame?" he asked. Baralai stayed where he was. Rikku zoned out, wondering why the three leaders, who she had expected to hate each other, were having a meeting like this. She was shocked out when she heard Gippal's raised voice.

"Baralai!" he yelled. Rikku saw Baralai had a gun pointed at Nooj's chest. Rikku took a deep breath and held it. _What if he's shot? _She whimpered in her head. (A/N: Gippal, not Nooj. Screw Nooj.)

"Why did you shoot?!" Baralai yelled. Rikku heard Paine take a deep breath similar to her own when Baralai said that. But Rikku didn't have the energy to care. All she could think of was the gun being to dangerously close to Gippal. "Why did you shoot Gippal and me?" The sentence seemed to ring in Rikku's ears until she heard Gippal again.

"…Don't' push me…" He said, taking out his own gun and pointing it at Baralai. "If this is what it takes." He said in a grim tone. Rikku's hearing went out again until Nooj took his own gun out and aimed it at Gippal. Rikku took in a sharp breath, prepared to scream, yell _something_, when she felt a gloved hand cover her mouth. It was Paine. She was glad she had covered her mouth, but she wasn't happy that Paine now held both her wrists behind her back. She wanted to stop Nooj. _Gippal! GIPPAL!_ Was all she could scream in her sub-consciousness. Rikku watched as some green light shot out from Nooj into Baralai. Everything was muted for moments. Nooj fell to the ground, his gun well away from Gippal. Rikku relaxed a little bit, but not much. Gippal put his own gun down and looked at Nooj. After a few more moments of conversation that Rikku could no longer hear, Baralai pointed his gun at Nooj's kneeling form.

"Wait!" Gippal said. She suddenly felt the ties on her mouth and wrists disappear as Paine ran forward.

"Stop!" she yelled. Rikku ran too, coming up next to Paine. Yuna started running a moment after.

"Paine! Get out of here!" Nooj yelled. Rikku watched Gippal for a few moments. He looked at her a smiled, waving once at her. She grinned slightly back until she heard Yuna yelled behind her.

"Rikku!"

_**MALBORO**_

"Where'd they go?" Rikku asked. Sure enough, all three men were gone without a trace.

"I saw Baralai escape… Nooj and Gippal probably chased after him." Paine said, panting to catch her breath. Rikku felt shaky. She found that if it had been _her_ near death experience, she would've been alright. But it was Gippal's... _Dammit. Where'd he go?_

"So you knew all three of them." Yuna said, sounding a bit like a question and a statement at the same time.

"Long ago." Paine said simply.

"Yeah, but Nooj he… rrgh!" Rikku said, completely agitated.

"Yes, he shot us…"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Rikku asked.

"You never asked." Paine replied.

"I'm asking now." Rikku said. Paine stayed silent. "You don't wanna tell us!" Paine sighed.

"Bingo." She said dully. Rikku "Grr"ed in a frustrated manner and stomped her feet lightly. "You wanna know?"

"Yeah but… forcing you to tell isn't any better." Yuna said, turning away. "We'll wait until you're ready." Paine looked surprised.

"No pressure, huh?" Paine said, actually _smiling_. Rikku sighed and ran out of the landing. She couldn't _wait_ to get into the engine room and think about _everything_.

**I really like this story, so I update fast. I'm working pretty much non stop haha. I have no life in the summer since I still have three years till I can drive anywhere.**


	18. Eternal Devotion

**Well, I think the next chapter will be the last one. But don't worry, there'll be a sequel, 'cause I can't just leave it off where I was. Well, happy reading!**

Rikku sat glumly curled up in the engine room. She didn't know where Gippal went, or if he was still alive. She felt the millionth tear slide down her cheek. _He said he wouldn't leave!_ She yelled.

**He said he wouldn't leave if he could help it…** Came the second voice, the one that always taunted her about how she was such a silly little girl who had only grown into a woman by chance. **You need to stop thinking people will rush to your side if you ask them to.**

_I wouldn't ask them to!_

**You would. I've seen it. The way you clung onto Tidus, praying he would choose **_**you**_** instead. Am I right?**

_That's not fair! I don't love Tidus anymore!_

**That may be true. But don't you remember how when Tidus hugged Yuna, you thought of Gippal. You**_** never**_** loved Tidus. You loved that Tidus reminded you of Gippal sometimes.**

_Nuh-uh!_

**So who does Gippal remind you of? Hm? Or do you just love the thought of someone holding you, not caring who that person is?**

_Stop!_

**You don't love Rikku. You merely exist. So what will you do when Gippal is through with you? Will you get up and find somebody new? Or will you brood over how heartless the world must think you are? **The voice speaking to her was not even her own. It wasn't even human. It was just there. Rikku let out a scream of pure rage and slammed her fists on the hard metal floor.

_"Rikku…" _came a soft voice. Gippal's voice. Rikku looked up.

"Gippal?" she whispered.

_"Rikku…" _the voice sounded amused, as if Gippal was invisible and circling her, laughing at how she could never seem to look in the right direction. Rikku put her hands over her ears.

"Stop. All of you! Leave me alone!" she screamed.

**Yuna and Paine**

Yuna continued to shake Rikku as Rikku yelled at them to leave her alone.

"But Rikku… you have to wake up! You've been sleeping for hours now!" Yuna said. Rikku jerked frantically as she finally opened her eyes. She looked at Yuna and Paine incredulously and the wilting against the wall.

"It was a dream." She seemed to reassure herself.

"Must've been a hectic dream too. You were having an entire conversation with yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Rikku versus Rikku fist fight in your head." Paine stated coolly. Yuna looked at her and seemed to say with her eyes how emotionless Paine could be sometimes. Paine just shrugged and strolled away. Yuna sat in front of Rikku and watched her with concern in her eyes.

"Yunie, I'm scared." Rikku whispered, her palms over her eyes as if to block out the world, the truth.

"I am too." Yuna said.

"Yeah but _your_ favorite guy didn't almost get _shot_." Rikku said, pointing a finger at her. Yuna was sad all of a sudden.

"No… mine disappeared… two years ago." Yuna said. Rikku's hand recoiled back as if Yuna had shot out a bitten it. "But you know, I still don't believe he's truly gone. He's still in my heart. I still love him. And I'm gonna keep on looking for him." Rikku nodded. "We'll find Gippal. He's in the Farplane somewhere. He'll be just as you left him when we get him back, and then the two of you are free to live happily ever after." Rikku smiled at the thought and wiped the stray tears from her eyes.

"Yeah!" she said with a cheerful smile and a nod. Yuna grinned and together, they walked back to the bridge.

"Yuuuuuuna!" Brother said. Yuna took a discreet step back.

"Y-yeah?" She asked.

"We've got a present for you!" he continued in a sing-song voice. Shinra tossed a sphere to Yuna.

"A new dressphere?" she said excitedly. Shinra nodded.

"Try it on." Shinra said. Brother was dancing on the spot. The three of them changed into the dressphere.

"A special bonus for the Gullwings." Buddy said, obviously trying not to laugh.

"They look great on you!" Brother yelled, dancing around.

"I, um, want one too." Shinra said, like Buddy, suppressing laughs.

"Shplendid work!" Barkeep said, dancing the way all Hypello's danced.

"Gosh, thanks…" Yuna said, taking the head off of her moogle costume.

"What the hell is this?!" Paine asked, slightly panicked, as she looked down at her tonberry costume.

"Hey, why not, right?" Rikku said nervously, looking around at her cait sith costume. The three changed out of the dressphere's as quickly as they could with some nervous giggles.

**Rikku again**

They spent about a week, running around and getting some extra information from people. All Rikku could think along the way was _The Gullwings last mission? Settle down maybe, but… no more Gullwings?_

She woke up reluctantly on the day they were going to find Vegnagun. _I don't wanna jump into one of them holes… but if I'll find you Gippal, then maybe this will all be over and we really can go live happily ever after. Just give me a little time._

"So, have you chosen where you are going to jump Yuna?" Brother asked. Yuna seemed to have a final run through in her mind.

"Besaid." Yuna said, evidently wishing she had thought about it even more, though a week seemed like it wasn't enough. Sooner than they could imagine, Buddy was at Besaid, and Rikku, Yuna and Paine were jumping off the ship.

Some dizzying puzzles later in the Farplane, Rikku, Yuna, Paine and Nooj all stood outside what they believed to be the final battle. Yuna saw Rikku's apprehensive look.

"Hey Rikku." She said, ringing out like a bell through Rikku's cloud of thought. Rikku snapped her head up. "No matter how monstrous it looks, it's still just a machina. So we can take it apart, right?" Rikku wasn't so sure. Sure, every machina has a weak spot. But this one seemed to be like a dog, except kinda different. Instead of smelling fear, it could smell hate a mile away. Probably a _thousand_ miles away. It would probably just boost up defenses in that particular spot. Rikku took a thoughtful position.

"Uh, yeah! Uh… maybe?" she said. She was good with machina, but she didn't feel strong anymore. She didn't feel like this was safe. This was a do-or-die mission. _But hey, aren't all missions like that?_ She heard many footsteps next to her. _Aw, great. Fiends._

"You never used to be the think-before-you-act type. What gives?"

_I know that voice. No one can do that stuck-up, cocky, arrogant voice like…_ Rikku turned. She gasped thickly, as her throat seemed to close up as the air was halfway through.

"Gippal!" she screamed as she ran towards him. She tackled him to the ground laughing and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"Whoa! Chill out Rikku! I was just hangin' down here with Nooj." (A/N: If he made any appearances before this, pretend they didn't happen. I like this much better ) He said, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist all the same. She got the familiar rush as he pressed his face into the curve of her neck and shoulder. He may have only been gone a week, but it felt like another two years to Rikku. Because this time, it had been like trying to hold water. You have it in your hands for a few moments, but one way or another, it will eventually slip away. She was going to be sure to put _this_ water in an evaporation proof bag. She would never let it out of her sight again.

"I have a question Cid's Girl…" he mumbled.

"Hmmm?" Rikku asked hopefully.

"Am I still an octopus?" he asked, knowing that he had gotten her hopes up. She giggled all the same and looked at him.

"Nope! You're a fish now!" she said, kissing him like she hadn't kissed him in two years… or a week.

**Wow it only took one chapter to find Gippal… well I'm not gonna write all the boring fight stuff which is… basically the concept of the game BUT NOT A ROMANCE FANFIC OKAAAAAY? Anywayz, we're gonna skip ahead a bit to VICTORIOUS TRUMPETS SOUNDING! And perfect ending, 'cause I actually LIKE Tidus… but not as much as Gippal. Tidus is kinda whiney… but he's okay! I'm rambling aren't I? Well, I've got some one shots for Rippal in store, so once I'm done those, I'm going to begin the sequel to **_**Smile Like You Mean it **_**So... expect the first chapter of the sequel to be up in about a day hahaha! Sayonara!**


	19. Epilogue

**So! It is the end of this fan fic. I must say, I'm not sad, because I've got things to do! However I **_**will**_** be sad when I finish the next fic. Unless I make a third… which I won't… ANYWAY time for my awards hahaha!**

_Most Hit Chapter: Chapter 1 (for all the washouts that decided they didn't like it)_

_Least Hit Chapter: Chapter 15 (Don't know what happened there…)_

_Most Reviewed Chapter: Tie between 7, 8, & 9 with 3 reviews each. (YAY!)_

_Least Reviewed Chapter: Chapter 15 (Yay two awards for it!)_

**Thanks to my reviewers, all 6 of them, **_**2hot41guy, The Al Bhed Princess, kairiyuna15, Sugar911, MadBrilliant1880, and SilentFall. **_**Thanks again! There's a preview for the first chapter at the end. And now, please enjoy the show!**

Rikku sank to her knees and panted, squeezing her eyes shut in her exhaustion. Vegnagun and Shuyin all in a row had drained every ounce of her energy. She heard footsteps end beside her and grinned slightly. Well, _almost_ every ounce. She turned her head to see two black boots next to her hand. She looked higher. That funny black and pink armor that she always though was ugly, yet godly sexy at the same time. It seemed to go along strangely with his perfectly toned muscles. Rikku finally understood what it was like to swoon over someone, or maybe she was just bushed. She looked even higher to see that gold hair, almost as dark and shade as hers that was pushed back to keep out of his way. His hair style hadn't changed much since she was fifteen. She could only see the black leather eye patch. She couldn't remember a time when Gippal _didn't_ have it. Although, she hadn't truly met him until she was five. She had only heard all the girls around her trying to sound grown up and say how cute he was. He could've lost it by then. She watched his seemingly perfect face as she caught her breath, thanking the Fayth that she even knew him. He sighed and turned to her. There it was. That teal eye that could dig down into her heart and know –most of the time- exactly what she was thinking.

"Nice day." Gippal said, smiling broadly at her. His voice. The one that seemed like an alarm clock to all the emotions that lay dormant inside her, waiting just for him. She beamed and leaped up, jumping on him and hugging him closely. He laughed as he took her hips in both hands and spun around with her. And there was one of her favorite things about him. The laugh that was so genuine, not the kind of laugh that he has whenever Rikku does something stupid. This was the kind of laugh of true happiness that Rikku only heard every once in awhile from him. When he finally stopped spinning her and set her down, he just stared at her for awhile before reaching up.

"Your hair," he said, taking pieces and putting them in different places. "is all messed up." Rikku just shook her head with a slight grin and listened to him talk. He wasn't perfect, and he certainly wasn't a fairytale prince. He was more of a… Gippal.

Yuna, Rikku and Paine stood in front of the three leaders. They wanted Yuna to say a speech, but Yuna was set on going to Besaid. She wouldn't say why, only that she _needed_ to go. She turned to the three and said,

"It's time for me to go home!" She ran towards them. Yuna and Paine started to go to the ship.

"I'll be there in a minute." Rikku said to the two. She walked over to Gippal as Nooj and Baralai walked slowly away. _Too_ slowly. Rikku glared at their backs until Baralai turned a bit to see her, and immediately sped up. Nooj continued at the normal pace, as Rikku expected he would.

"So, Cid's girl. What next?" Gippal said. Rikku shrugged.

"Well, ya know, think I might go to Bikanel, hang out with Pops for awhile. He's finished rebuilding Home y'know. Couldn't convince him not to, sadly. Anyway, saving the world twice in two years. It's exhausting." Rikku said. "And what about you?" Gippal smiled as though it were a stupid question.

"Well, I would follow you, but I gotta get back to Djose. Maybe I'll come and see you there." He said. Rikku beamed at him and nodded, standing on her toes and kissing him quickly. She then spun around and run after Yuna and Paine. Going home might not be so bad.

…_Fin…_

**Tada! Okay! Thank you for reading my fanfic, and read the sequel! Please…! Okay, read on to see the preview. Oneshots are coming! See ya later!**

_"Why do you _always_ have to be like this?" Gippal asked in a harsh tone, his gaze boring down on her. Rikku narrowed her eyes at him in defiance. Just because he was taller didn't mean he was better._

_"Like _what_? Normal?!" Rikku asked._

_"No! Annoying!"_

_"Well if I'm so annoying, then why do you talk to me?"_

_"Because you never leave me alone!"_

_"Yes I do! I'm not some lost puppy y'know!"_

_"I know… You're my friend."_

_"Well ya know what?"_

_"What?"_

_"Maybe I never wanted to be friends with a jerk!"_

_"Well maybe I never wanted to be friends with a stupid blonde!"_

_"You're blonde too!"_

_"Least I'm not stupid."  
"Least I've got two eyes!" Gippal stayed silent after that. Rikku stared at him with hatred._

_"Fine. Then maybe we _shouldn't_ be friends." Gippal said, almost in a whisper._

_"Good. Then I guess we're done here." Rikku said, turning away. There was a sharp pain that shot up her arm. She turned to realize Gippal had grabbed it and was holding it tightly. His hand was big enough to wrap around her entire arm, and the grip he had was bone crushing. "Let go!" Gippal pulled on her arm and crashed his lips down on hers clumsily. He pulled away after a second and looked at her with a calloused gaze._

_"Now we're done." He said, shoving her arm away as if she was the one who had made him grab it. He walked away briskly, his hands in his pockets. She stamped her foot and screamed, spinning on her heel and stomping in the other direction. She hated Gippal too much to think of the kiss. And so, she never thought of it again._


End file.
